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Biggie Mistrial Declared

Late rapper's family will pursue another suit against LAPD

By 
July 7, 2005 12:00 AM ET

A mistrial has been declared in the wrongful death case brought by the family of the late rapper Notorious B.I.G., born Christopher Wallace, against the city of Los Angeles and the LAPD.

The judge announced the ruling Wednesday after an anonymous tip led to the discovery of several documents relevant to the Brooklyn rapper's 1997 shooting that were withheld by the LAPD. Wallace's family has claimed that a number of LAPD officers had relationships with gang members and sometimes provided security for Death Row Records, home to B.I.G. hip-hop rival Tupac Shakur.

Along with producer Sean "Puffy" Combs (now "P. Diddy") and his Bad Boy label, Brooklyn native B.I.G. recorded his debut, 1994's Ready to Die, and 1997's Life After Death (released weeks after his death), both hit-packed hip-hop milestones. He was killed when shots were fired into his car on a Los Angeles road shortly after midnight on March 9, 1997.

Perry Sanders Jr., the attorney for Wallace's mother Voletta and widow (and R&B singer) Faith Evans, announced that they would proceed with another lawsuit to connect the killing with LAPD corruption, saying, "We're about to peel the onion back to its rotten core."

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