How Did Elliot Smith Die?

Published September 20, 2013

Question by oblivious: how did elliot smith die?

Best answer:

Answer by iijakii
Elliott Smith died on October 21, 2003 in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California at age 34, from two stab wounds to the chest during an emotional fight with Jennifer Chiba. [16] According to her account, the two were arguing when she locked herself in the bathroom. Chiba heard him scream, and upon opening the door, saw Smith standing there with a steak knife in his chest. She pulled the knife out of him, after which Smith collapsed and she called 911. The time of death was listed at 12:18 PM. While originally reported as a suicide, the official autopsy report released in late December 2003 left the question of possible homicide open:
While his history of depression is compatible with suicide, and the location and direction of the stab wound is consistent with self-infliction, several aspects of the circumstances (as are known at this time) are atypical of suicide and raise the possibility of homicide. These include the absence of hesitation wounds, stabbing through clothing, and the presence of small incised wounds on the right arm and left hand (possible defensive wounds). Additionally, the girlfriend’s [Jennifer Chiba’s] reported removal of the knife and subsequent refusal to speak with detectives are all of concern.

According to the coroner’s report, the alleged suicide note, written on a Post-it, read, I’m so sorry – love, Elliot. God forgive me. The misspelling of “Elliott” was later acknowledged as a mistake on the part of the coroner. Robin Peringer, one of the singers few close friends towards the end of his life, says that Smith was a “cutter”, which would help explain the “possible defensive wounds.” Fritz Michaud, an engineer during the Basement sessions, claimed that “Elliott literally wouldn’t have been caught dead without his shirt on,” possibly explaining why the stab wounds penetrated his shirt (something extremely uncommonly seen in stabbing suicides).

His death has not been officially declared a suicide, and the investigation into his death continues, although almost no new information at all has publicly come to light since 2003.

Answer by mavsman15
According to Elliott Smith and the Big Nothing, he began to display signs of paranoia, often believing that a white van followed him wherever he went. He would have friends drop him off for recording sessions almost a mile away from the studio, and to reach the location he would trudge through hundreds of yards of brush and cliffs. He started telling people that DreamWorks was out to get him. “Not long ago my house was broken into, and songs were stolen off my computer which have wound up in the hands of certain people who work at a certain label. I’ve also been followed around for months at a time. I wouldn’t even want to necessarily say it’s the people from that label who are following me around, but it was probably them who broke into my house.” [12] Nugent’s book says that during this time, Smith hardly ever ate, subsisting primarily on ice cream (bizarrely, it was the only thing that he kept in his freezer). He would go for several days with out sleeping, then sleep for about 24 hours.

On November 25, 2002, Smith was involved in a brawl with the Los Angeles Police Department at a Flaming Lips/Beck concert. [13] Allegedly, Smith saw the officers harassing a young man, at which point the musician tried to step in and defend him. Thinking he was a homeless man, the officers supposedly beat and arrested him and his girlfriend, Jennifer Chiba (without reading them their Miranda Rights). The two spent the night in jail. Smith’s hand and back were injured in the incident, causing him to have to cancel a number of shows. [14]

He attempted to go to rehab several times, but he “couldn’t honestly do the first step {where the individual admits that they have a drug/alcohol problem}. I couldn’t say what you were supposed to say and mean it.” Finally, after several years of darkness, things began to lighten. In the fall of 2002, Smith went to the Neurotransmitter Restoration Center in Beverly Hills to start a course of treatment for his drug addiction. In one of his final interviews, he spoke about the center: “What they do is an IV treatment where they put a catheter in your arm, and you’re on a drip bag, but the only thing that’s in the drip bag is amino acids and saline solution. I was coming off of a lot of psyche meds and other things. I was even on an antipsychotic, although I’m not psychotic.” [15] This time the center proved to do wonders for him, helping him permanently beat his addictions to heroin and crack. After his 34th birthday on August 6, 2003, he gave up alcohol, caffeine, red meat, refined sugar and his longtime regiment of sometimes abused psychological medication. “Elliott’s getting better”-type rumors spread on the internet and throughout the independent music community (as apparent on Ben Folds’ tribute song to Smith, “Late”).

Elliott Smith died on October 21, 2003 in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California at age 34, from two stab wounds to the chest during an emotional fight with Jennifer Chiba. [16] According to her account, the two were arguing when she locked herself in the bathroom. Chiba heard him scream, and upon opening the door, saw Smith standing there with a steak knife in his chest. She pulled the knife out of him, after which Smith collapsed and she called 911. The time of death was listed at 12:18 PM. While originally reported as a suicide, the official autopsy report released in late December 2003 left the question of possible homicide open:
While his history of depression is compatible with suicide, and the location and direction of the stab wound is consistent with self-infliction, several aspects of the circumstances (as are known at this time) are atypical of suicide and raise the possibility of homicide. These include the absence of hesitation wounds, stabbing through clothing, and the presence of small incised wounds on the right arm and left hand (possible defensive wounds). Additionally, the girlfriend’s [Jennifer Chiba’s] reported removal of the knife and subsequent refusal to speak with detectives are all of concern.

His death has not been officially declared a suicide, and the investigation into his death continues, although almost no new information at all has publicly come to light since 2003.

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