Russell Poole, the lead investigator in a case surrounding Notorious B.I.G.'s murder, has reportedly passed away, according to the Los Angeles Times. Poole died on Wednesday (August 19) of a possible heart attack in the midst of talks with Los Angeles County Sheriff homicide investigators about another cold case.
Poole headed up the investigation into B.I.G.'s death in 1997 and accused an LAPD officer of colluding with Suge Knight in carrying out the rapper's murder. Poole thought that the murder was a violent response to the death of Tupac Shakur less than a year prior and retired from the LAPD in 1999 following several disputes with the department regarding a handful of investigations.
According to Billboard, Poole told CNN in 2011 that he was discouraged from following certain leads in the investigation into Biggie's death. "I think I was getting too close to the truth," he said at the time. "I think they feared the truth would be a scandal."
