It’s been almost fourteen years since The Notorious B.I.G. was gunned down in Los Angeles, and no arrests have been made in his murder. However, that might change soon. An anonymous source divulged to CNN that the investigation had been “reinvigorated”, and I’m curious to know what the new leads are. There have been several excellent books and films that have attempted to dissect what went on that night, and it would certainly be news to the ears of Biggie’s mother Voletta Wallace if a suspect was nabbed. I’ve watched enough episodes of The First 48 (it’s my latest addiction) to know that solving cases like B.I.G’s can take quite some time, especially since the hip-hop “no snitching” code was firmly in place. Add that into rampant corruption in the LAPD’s ranks, and…well, it would be nice if someone did the right thing and stepped up, not only in regards to B.I.G.’s murders, but also in regards to Tupac’s, Jam Master Jay’s, and any other unsolved murder out there. I can’t help but wonder if Suge Knight is gonna figure in this somehow.
In what looks like the juiciest of all pop-star murders, it looks like Dr. Conrad Murray will face charges and go to trial as a result of Michael Jackson‘s death in June 2009. I couldn’t have seen this going any other way-after all, it was obvious that Michael died of a drug overdose and Murray was injecting him with a drug that should not have been administered outside of a hospital. Whether he delivered the fatal dose or not, Murray deserves some blame for contributing to Michael’s death. However, it doesn’t seem like the KOP’s passing is something that can just be attributed to one person and then called an open and shut case. Part of the blame has to lie with AEG and the “This is It” tour organizers, who saw dollar signs and worked Michael harder than he might have been capable of working at the time. Part of the blame has to lie with the doctors who supplied Michael with drugs. I do believe that in this case Conrad Murray is kind of a scapegoat. There was very likely a long line of doctors willing to buddy up and supply MJ with drugs, so in some way Murray is just guilty of being blinded by Jackson’s celebrity and saying “yes”. Finally, some of the blame has to lie with Michael himself, although given the apparent facts (stricken with severe insomnia since the 2005 trial, it’s hard to imagine what the man went through in search of a good night’s sleep) and the eventual outcome, you can’t help but feel sorry for the guy. Either way, the upcoming trial should provide a very interesting glimpse into the final days of Jackson, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some MJ or Jackson Family secrets wind up coming to the light by the trial’s end.