Thursday, July 19, 2018

Biggie Smalls, Death remains unsolved...... Murdered by friend or foe? Will we ever know?

If you don't love yourself, i'll make you see your own heart.

Christopher George Latore Wallace May 21, 1972 in St. Mary's Hospital in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.

 He was an American rapper.


 He was also known as The Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie.


He was the only child of Jamaican parents, Voletta Wallace, a preschool teacher, and Selwyn George Latore, a welder and politician

His father left the family when Biggie was two years old, and his mother worked two jobs while raising him. 

On March 9, 1997, the hip hop artist was shot four times and killed by an unknown assailant in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. 



What happened?


Biggie traveled to Los Angeles, California in February 1997 to promote his upcoming second studio album, Life After Death, and to film a music video for its lead single, "Hypnotize". 

On March 5, he gave a radio interview in which he stated that he had hired security because he feared for his safety. 


On March 7, Biggie presented an award to Toni Braxton at the 1997 Soul Train Music Awards in Los Angeles.

He was booed by some of the audience.


 The following evening, March 8, he attended an after-party hosted at the Petersen Automotive Museum in West Los Angeles.


Other guests included Faith Evans, Aaliyah, Sean Combs, and members of the Bloods and Crips gangs.


On March 9, 1997, at 12:30 a.m., Biggie left with his entourage in two Chevrolet Suburbans to return to his hotel after the Los Angeles Fire Department closed the party early because of overcrowding.


Wallace traveled in the front passenger seat alongside his associates Damion "D-Roc" Butler, Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Lil' Cease, and driver Gregory "G-Money" Young. Combs traveled in the other vehicle with three bodyguards.


 The two SUVs were trailed by a Chevrolet Blazer carrying Bad Boy Records' director of security.


By 12:45 a.m., the streets were crowded with people leaving the event. 


Biggie's SUV stopped at a red light on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and South Fairfax Avenue.

A dark-colored Chevrolet Impala SS pulled up alongside Biggie's SUV. 


The driver of the Impala was  a black male dressed in a blue suit and bow tie.


He rolled down his window, drew a gun and fired at the Suburban.


Four bullets hit Biggie.


Biggie was rushed him to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, by his entourage, where doctors performed an emergency thoracotomy, but he was pronounced dead at 1:15 a.m. 


He was 24 years old.



His autopsy was released to the public in December 2012.

According to the report, three of the four shots were not fatal. 


The first bullet hit his left forearm and traveled down to his wrist.


Then the second hit him in the back, missing all vital organs, and exited through his left shoulder.


The third hit his left thigh and exited through his inner thigh. 


While the fourth bullet was fatal.


It entered through his right hip, striking several vital organs, including his colon, liver, heart, and the upper lobe of his left lung, before stopping in his left shoulder area.


Investigation


Following the shooting, reports surfaced linking Biggie's murder with that of Shakur six months earlier.

They both had similarities in the drive-by shootings and the highly publicized East Coast–West Coast hip hop feud, of which Shakur and Biggie had been central figures.


Media reports had previously speculated that Biggie was in some way connected to Shakur's murder.


There was no evidence that ever surfaced to seriously implicate him. 


 The key suspect in his murder was a member of the Southside Crips acting in service of a personal financial motive, rather than on the gang's behalf.


No one was ever formally charged.

Information was compiled about the murders of Wallace and Shakur based on information provided by retired LAPD detective Russell Poole.

The information was used to write a 2002 book by Randall Sullivan, called LAbyrinth.

Sullivan accused Suge Knight, of conspiring with corrupt LAPD officer David Mack to kill Biggie and make both deaths appear to be the result of the rap rivalry.

 The book stated that one of Mack's alleged associates, Amir Muhammad, was the hitman who killed Biggie. 

The theory was based on evidence provided by an informant
and the resemblance of Muhammad to the facial composite generated during the investigation.

An article published in Rolling Stone by Sullivan in December 2005 claimed that Combs "failed to fully cooperate with the investigation", and according to Poole, encouraged Bad Boy staff to do the same.

In the 2000 book The Murder of Biggie Smalls, investigative journalist and author Cathy Scott suggested that Wallace and Shakur's murders might have been the result of the East Coast–West Coast feud and motivated by financial gain for the record companies.

Saying the rappers were worth more dead than alive.

The criminal investigation into Biggie's murder was re-opened in July 2006.

 The investigation was to look for new evidence to help the city defend the civil lawsuits brought by the Biggie's family.

Retired LAPD detective Greg Kading, alleges that the rapper was shot by Wardell "Poochie" Fouse, an associate of Knight, who was later killed on July 24, 2003, after being shot in the back while riding his motorcycle in Compton. 

Kading believes Knight hired Poochie via his girlfriend, to kill Biggie to avenge the death of Shakur, who, Kading alleges, was killed under the orders of Combs.


In December 2012, the LAPD released the autopsy results conducted on Wallace's body to generate new leads. 

 The case remains officially unsolved.

MAIN INVESTIGATOR IN BIGGIE'S CASE 

HYPNOTIZE



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