Detective Russell Poole Dies

Russell Poole, a former Los Angeles Police Department detective who found himself in the middle of a firestorm involving the murders of Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur, died of an apparent heart attack in Los Angeles Aug. 19 while talking to detectives about a cold case.

Poole, whose story was documented in the book Labyrinth, investigated the Notorious B.I.G. murder for the LAPD but his conclusions did not sit well with the department. Poole claimed Biggie Smalls was killed by police officers who had ties to Death Row Records, “Suge” Knight and the Bloods street gang.

The sordid tale included a 2007 recantation by an inmate who had implicated the officers, which in turn gave credence to a separate theory by Los Angeles Times reporter Chuck Philips who reported that Shakur was murdered by the Crips gang, hired by Biggie Smalls.