Notorious B.I.G. autopsy: Family wants more facts from LAPD
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
The family of slain rapper Notorious B.I.G. said they would like authorities to release more information about their homicide investigation.
The Los Angeles Police Department took the unusual step Friday of unsealing the 15-year-old autopsy report from the case, saying they hoped to generate new leads in the murder mystery.
But the LAPD released no new information about the investigation, and it’s unclear whether the release was prompted by new information or whether detectives are discovering new clues.
Lt. Andrew Neiman would only say: ‘Investigators decided to release the autopsy to stimulate new interest in the case and hopefully produce new leads.’
The rapper’s family, who have long been at odds with the LAPD, said they would like more information released.
‘What legitimate lead could be stimulated by releasing an autopsy that says ‘Mr. Wallace was shot,’ when everyone knows that? Why don’t they release some of the clues they have?’ said Perry Sanders Jr., a civil rights attorney who represents Wallace’s mother and other relatives.
Notorious B.I.G., whose real name was Christopher George Latore Wallace, died in March 1997 when he was shot four times during a drive-by attack on Wilshire Boulevard.Wallace had been sitting in the front passenger seat of a Chevrolet Suburban.
He was killed by a shot that entered his right hip before slicing through his colon, liver, heart and part of his lung before wedging in his left shoulder area, according to the report signed by Deputy Medical Examiner Dr. Lisa Scheinin.
One shot hit Wallace’s left forearm and traveled down to his wrist, while a another hit him in the back and exited his body through his left shoulder, the report said. Another shot hit his left thigh and traveled through to his inner thigh.
Examiners noted they could not determine the sequence of the shots.
The Brooklyn rapper, who was also known as Biggie Smalls, was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where doctors performed emergency surgery. Two medium-caliber lead bullets were recovered from his hospital gurney.
No drugs or alcohol were found in Wallace’s system, according to a toxicology screen.
The unexpected release of the autopsy report after all this time caught the rapper’s relatives off guard. Family members said they were disheartened that the case has still not been solved.
The shooting occurred outside the Petersen Automotive Museum in the Miracle Mile area as the rapper was leaving a music industry party. At the time of his death, Wallace was one of the biggest stars in rap music. Coroner’s officials noted he arrived at Cedar’s in full cardiac arrest and died shortly after.
His violent death shocked the hip-hop community, coming just months after the Las Vegas slaying of another marquee rapper, Los Angeles-based Tupac Shakur.
Once friends, the rappers became rivals whose respective camps regularly traded violent barbs in song lyrics and in interviews. Shakur’s slaying also remains unsolved. Various theories have linked the two homicides.
The FBI opened its own probe after Wallace’s family accused the LAPD of covering up how the rapper actually died. Los Angeles police officials last year said they exhaustively searched for answers in the case without an arrest.
-- Richard Winton
