Rapper Notorious B.I.G.'s autopsy released 15 years after murder

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The autopsy report on murdered hip hop star Notorious B.I.G. has been released by the Los Angeles County Coroner, more than 15 years after his shooting.

Notorious B.I.G was gunned down at the age of 24 in Los Angeles in the early morning on March 9, 1997, in a drive-by shooting. The rapper was sitting in the passenger seat of a sport-utility vehicle after a party when he was killed.

The report, released quietly last week and obtained by Reuters on Friday, indicates Notorious B.I.G., whose real name was Christopher Wallace, was struck in his arm, back, thigh and abdomen. It said the fatal shot that struck his abdomen perforated his colon, liver, heart and lung.

The murder remains unsolved, and the Los Angeles Police Department declined to comment on Friday on why the report was released at this time. The coroner's office said the report was under a "security hold," which had been lifted by the police department but gave no other details.

Although there was little new to be gleaned from the report, it revived the countless conspiracy theories around the murder.

One prominent theory is of an East Coast-West Coast hip hop feud that saw Notorious B.I.G.'s murder as retribution for the killing of Los Angeles-based rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996, which is also unsolved.

Notorious B.I.G., who was from New York, was known for his witty rhymes as well as his enormous size. He was 6-foot-1 and 395 lbs. at the time of his death, the report said.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Jill Serjeant and Todd Eastham)