Notorious B.I.G's death remains enigmatic, but in the on-going attempt to determine what happened on the night of March 9, 1997, when the 24 year old rapper was shot dead, has opened up a fresh wound for his family, as the autopsy report was released early, and not to their knowledge, The L.A Times reports. 

"Our detectives personally spoke with the Wallace family [Friday] night, and apologized for not notifying them prior to the release" said Capt. Billy Hayes, who leads the Robbery-Homicide Division - which is investigating the killing. "Obviously this has been a challenging case for us to solve. We hope that witnesses or other people with information will come forward and give us the clues we need to solve this case." In the majority, the results of an autopsy are released shortly after the coroner's office has completed its investigation, but in a few instances, particularly high-profile investigations, the autopsy results are withheld while the case is under investigation.

The LAPD opted to release the autopsy "as an investigative tool, in the hopes that releasing the report would stimulate additional interest or bring forth witnesses or clues in the case." Wallace was shot four times in March 1997 in a drive-by attack on Wilshire Boulevard, however, the case remains unsolved. "Due to an administrative error, the autopsy report was released prematurely.  Robbery-Homicide Division detectives had intended to notify Mr. Wallace's family prior to releasing the report," the LAPD said in a statement.