ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 23, 1997 TAG: 9704230080
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
Police may have seen rapper slain
LOS ANGELES - Several law enforcement officers may have witnessed the March 9 killing of rap star Notorious B.I.G., according to law enforcement sources close to the investigation and associates of the rapper.
The revelation comes as the murder investigation is reportedly stymied by a lack of reliable witnesses.
One off-duty Inglewood police officer, working security for the star's entourage, was in a car directly behind Notorious B.I.G. when he was shot in front of hundreds of partygoers, the sources said.
It remains unclear how much information he or other officers have provided. Los Angeles Police Department detectives refused to discuss the case.
Sources said that officer was one of six from Inglewood who violated department policy by working off-duty on the night of the shooting as security for the 24-year-old rapper, whose real name was Christopher Wallace. They said the officer may have fled without reporting his observations to investigators.
Sources also said undercover officers from New York were monitoring Wallace and his entourage on the night of the shooting as part of a federal investigation of criminals allegedly affiliated with the rapper's label, Bad Boy Entertainment.
-LOS ANGELES TIMES
Some Romanov artifacts moved into embassy
WASHINGTON - A standoff over the Romanov czars' crown jewels eased Tuesday after promoters of a touring exhibit agreed to move a truck full of related artifacts to the Russian embassy.
While more than $100 million in jewels remained in a vault at the Corcoran Gallery here, a moving van filled with priceless gowns and paintings was driven inside the gates of the Russian embassy compound three miles away.
``Let's hope that this is a harbinger of movement toward a positive resolution of this problem,'' said David Levy, the Corcoran's director.
Cars and personnel from the embassy had sandwiched in the van on New York Avenue about two blocks from the White House since last Friday in a dispute between the Russian government and a bilateral foundation promoting a U.S. museum tour of the jewels and other artifacts.
The Russian government, which wants the exhibit returned to Moscow for the 850th anniversary celebration of the city's founding, had demanded that the jewels, gowns and paintings be turned over immediately to its embassy here.
The American-Russian Cultural Cooperation Foundation refused, saying U.S. museums had forwarded the Russian government $400,000 for a two-year American tour of the exhibit.
-ASSOCIATED PRESS
Teen's parents convicted in her faith-healing death
HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. - The parents of a 16-year-old girl who died from diabetes were convicted Tuesday for relying on prayer instead of medicine. It was their second conviction in the death of an untreated child.
Lorie Nixon wept when the jury found her and her husband, Dennis, guilty of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment. Their daughter, Shannon Nixon, died in June of treatable diabetes. Pathologists said her heart gave out when her blood sugar level soared 18 times higher than normal.
The Nixons are members of the Faith Tabernacle Congregation, a Philadelphia-based sect that advocates faith healing. Their 8-year-old son died in 1991 of an untreated ear infection.
Judge Norman Callan told the jury that despite defense arguments that Shannon was mature enough to make her own medical decisions, her parents had a duty to protect her health and safety. Their religious beliefs are not a valid defense under Pennsylvania law, he told jurors.
-ASSOCIATED PRESS
Principal apologizes after tots were strip-searched
CASPER, Wyo. - School officials apologized to the parents of second- and third-grade students who were strip-searched while teachers looked for $10 reported missing by a classmate. The money wasn't found.
Midwest School Principal Mark Mathern said the search was ``a grave error in judgment.'' He met with the parents of the 23 students to apologize.
``We really had to take a lot of heat'' from the parents, he said. ``On the other hand, I heard parents say, `We really like your school and we don't want to see any harm come to it in the long run.'''
An assistant principal, three teachers and a teacher's aide were suspended, and Natrona County School District Superintendent Stan Olson said he would make a recommendation to the school board on disciplinary action.
-ASSOCIATED PRESS
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