Notorious B.I.G. Apology From LAPD Compounds Family’s Pain

A Notorious B.I.G. apology from the LAPD this week after a leak revealed never-before disclosed details about the murder of 24-year-old Christopher Wallace has unsurprisingly done little to placate a family that have been waiting for the better part of two decades to see some sort of justice in the much lauded hip-hop legend’s tragic death.

The Notorious B.I.G. apology came after the rapper’s autopsy details were leaked to (of all sources) celebrity gossip site TMZ — perhaps not exactly the place you’d want to be the bearer of bad news if you were Mrs. B.I.G. While the brand’s wide reach means that the department’s stated goal of gathering new information on the case makes it a plausible choice, the newly revived interest in the case also came as a shock to Big’s surviving relatives — probably including his now-young-adult kids who are old enough to see the information online without the courtesy of a sit-down from authorities or family members.

And it seems the Notorious B.I.G. apology from the LAPD is just one in a series of unintentional slaps in the face to the mother, wife, and daughter of the slain star in the two decades since he passed. LAPD Robbery-Homicide head Captain Billy Hayes admits that the department planned to talk to the Big clan before the release but didn’t get around to it:

“Robbery-Homicide Division detectives had intended to notify Mr. Wallace’s family prior to releasing the report … Our detectives personally spoke with the Wallace family [Friday] night, and apologized for not notifying them prior to the release. 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.”

After the release, the rapper’s family again hoped aloud for new information to be released in the murder, and lawyer for the Wallace family Perry Sanders Jr. spoke with disgust about how the murder has been handled by the department, who he says claims that cops have known for years who killed Big but still inexplicably fail to act:

“I’ve been advised by the homicide detective that was in charge of the investigation and is no longer with the department that the crime has been solved for several years now … This was confirmed by at least one other person who is currently on the force, and it is ridiculous that an arrest has not been made for a crime that’s allegedly been solved for several years.”

Sanders even dropped a civil suit two years ago in the case in order to allow the investigation to continue and says of the Notorious B.I.G. apology:

“In no way shape or form is this about civil litigation … This is about the criminal justice system and it functioning properly.”

It seems that the Notorious B.I.G. apology and bungled autopsy leak is just another misstep in a case that has sadly failed to produce any sort of closure for the family of the slain rap genius, but fans can hope that this latest series of mistakes may once and for all shine a light on a murder that should long since have been solved and that people remember anew that the man who shot down a 24-year-old legend in public in a crowded part of L.A. walks free to this day.