The recent conviction in the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur has intensified scrutiny on the still-unsolved killing of fellow rapper The Notorious B.I.G., whose real name was Christopher Wallace. Shakur's murder was finally brought to a conclusion with the conviction of Duane "Keefe D" Davis last week in Las Vegas for orchestrating his cousin's deadly actions.
Wallace, also known as Biggie Smalls, was fatally shot in a drive-by on March 9, 1997, in Los Angeles, an event widely seen as retaliation for Shakur's death. Davis was found guilty of murder for ordering his nephew, Orlando Lane, to kill Shakur and providing him with a weapon. \n
"The Tupac verdict doesn’t necessarily help solve Biggie’s murder, but it inevitably puts it under an intense microscope," Justin Tinsley, author of "Biggie and the World that Made Him," told The Post. "The police need somebody to corroborate evidence. Biggie needs his Keefe D moment."
Both murders are understood to be gang-related, with Shakur associated with the Bloods and Wallace's manager, Sean "Diddy" Combs, alleged to have ties to the rival Crips. Theories regarding Wallace's killer range from off-duty LAPD officers to an associate of Shakur's manager, Suge Knight. However, obtaining direct confessions or corroborating evidence has proven difficult over the nearly three decades since Wallace's death.
Davis, a former Crips leader, had previously been questioned by the LAPD about Wallace's shooting. The drive-by shooting occurred outside the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, where Wallace had attended a party. A Chevrolet opened fire on the GMC Suburban Wallace was traveling in, striking him with four bullets, similar to Shakur.
One theory, investigated by former LAPD detective Greg Kading, suggests a woman named "Theresa Swan" told investigators she was ordered to have Wardell "Poochie" Fouse kill Biggie. According to Kading, who authored "Murder Rap," Swan allegedly met with Fouse, a payment was arranged, and Fouse, driving a green Impala, subsequently carried out the shooting.
Randall Sullivan, in his books "Labyrinth" and "Dead Wrong," proposed that LAPD officers, some allegedly on the payroll of Knight's Death Row Records, were involved. Sullivan suggested that police officers working for Suge Knight coordinated the murder, with a hired hitman carrying it out. The target, Sullivan posits, was Combs, but the hitman killed Wallace when he couldn't reach Combs, who was in a different vehicle.
Wallace's family filed lawsuits against the city of Los Angeles and the LAPD in 2002 and 2007, alleging insufficient action to prevent his death. The first suit, which charged police involvement, resulted in a mistrial and substantial attorney fees for the city. The second suit was dismissed.
"Poochie," the alleged gunman in one account, was himself killed in a drive-by shooting in 2003. Experts like Kading and Tinsley believe that killing someone like Wallace, who had security and affiliations, would likely have required a coordinated effort, potentially involving a "spotter" to provide real-time information.
Speculation has also touched on Combs' potential knowledge of the events. Gene Deal, a former bodyguard for Combs, stated in a documentary that Combs could have been directly involved, noting his anxious behavior the week of Wallace's murder and his claims that Wallace would not be traveling to London as planned. Combs has explicitly denied any involvement.
Law enforcement officials hope that new evidence may emerge, perhaps through a deathbed confession or a confession from an individual who realizes the value of their knowledge. "There’s going to have to be some rock-hard evidence brought forward," Tinsley stated. "But the encouraging thing about the Tupac verdict is that it proves these cases are never too old to pursue."