Notorious B.I.G. post-mortem report released

A sealed report about the death of the famous rapper, who was gunned down in 1997, is finally opened.

Authorities have released a long-sealed report showing The Notorious B.I.G. was shot four times in a 1997 drive-by shooting in Los Angeles that remains unsolved.

The report said one of the bullets delivered a fatal wound to the rapper, whose real name was Christopher Wallace.

The 23-page document details the trajectory of each of the shots that hit him. One bullet killed the hip-hop star when it tore through his left lung, heart and colon.

No drugs or alcohol were found in his system.

The killing has been the subject of police and FBI investigations and remains one of Los Angeles’ highest-profile unsolved homicides.

Wallace, who was also known as Biggie Smalls, was 24 years old when he was killed after leaving a music industry event.

His murder is thought to have been part of a feud between rival record labels.

Chief Coroner Investigator Craig Harvey said a security hold that had been placed on the report was lifted last week.

A phone message left for an attorney who represents Wallace’s family and widow, Faith Evans, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

Federal agents conducted a bi-coastal search for Wallace’s killer, but federal prosecutors determined in 2005 that there was not enough evidence to pursue a case.

Agents looked into whether any Los Angeles police officers had been involved in the shooting, which came months after another rap superstar, Tupac Shakur, was shot dead in Las Vegas.

In March 2011, the FBI electronically released files on its investigation, which were heavily redacted but shed new light on the efforts that investigators took to try to find those responsible for the rapper’s death.

Agents conducted surveillance and interviews in Los Angeles, San Diego and New York, the files showed.

The deaths of Wallace and Shakur have been the subject of rampant speculation about the motives.

The one-time friends became rivals and instigators in an East Coast-West Coast rap rivalry during the mid-1990s.

Wallace’s family filed a federal lawsuit against Los Angeles, and a 2005 trial ended with a mistrial after attorneys for Wallace’s family discovered the city had withheld a trove of LAPD documents.

The family dismissed the lawsuit in 2010. Their attorney said that was done in order for the FBI and other agencies to pursue new leads in the case.

The civil case could be refiled, although that has not yet occurred.