Notorious B.I.G.’S autopsy report release upsets family
Police detectives apologized to the family of Notorious B.I.G. for failing to warn them about the planned release of his autopsy report more than 15 years after he died in a drive-by shooting, the Los Angeles Police Department said Saturday.
The detectives had intended to notify the rapper’s family, but the report was released prematurely “due to an administrative error,” the department stated.
“Our detectives personally spoke with the Wallace family (Friday) night, and apologized for not notifying them prior to the release” said Capt. Billy Hayes, who heads LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division, which is investigating the killing.
“Obviously this has been a challenging case for us to solve. We hope that witnesses or other people with information will come forward and give us the clues we need to solve this case.”
Los Angeles County’s Chief Coroner Investigator Craig Harvey said a security hold placed on the report’s release was lifted last week. The 23-page report revealed the rapper, whose real name was Christopher Wallace, was hit by four bullets after leaving a music industry event in March 1997, but one that hit his heart, left lung and colon caused his death.
The attorney for the rapper’s family complained Friday that he was not given any notice that the report would be released and criticized police for not closing one of Los Angeles’ highest-profile unsolved murders.
Both Los Angeles police and the FBI investigated Wallace’s killing, which came just months after another rap superstar, Tupac Shakur, was gunned down in Las Vegas.