Notorious Big Wrongful-Death Trial Halted

The Notorious BIG wrongful-death trial was halted in Los Angeles on Monday (27JUN05) after the rapper's family received an important tip relating to his 1997 murder.

The family of Notorious - real name CHRISTOPHER WALLACE - are suing the Los Angeles Police Department and the city for wrongful death, and identify an ex-LAPD officer named David A Mack as an alleged mastermind of the shooting.

On Friday (24JUN05), the Wallaces' lawyer Perry Sanders revealed the family had received new important information from a Louisiana man, leading US District JUDGE FLORENCE-MARIE COOPER to excuse jurors for the day.

Sanders says the informant claimed Mack and another former cop RAFAEL PEREZ confessed to two prison inmates that they had murdered Notorious as he sat outside a post-SOUL TRAIN MUSIC AWARDS party in LA on 9 March 1997.

On Monday, after meeting with Sanders, Judge Cooper asked the city to find alleged materials, which apparently included an informant implicating Mack and Perez.

The trial will resume on Thursday (30JUN05).