Who killed Tupac Shakur? Trial begins this week

Thirty years after the assassination of hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur, the criminal trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis (63) begins this Monday in Las Vegas. He is the only person ever to have been officially charged in connection with the fatal shooting on September 7, 1996. Davis is accused of organizing the attack and providing the murder weapon. However, he has denied any involvement for years.

The trial will begin in Clark County Court with a jury selection, a process expected to last from a few days to a week. This will be followed by opening statements and witness testimony. The total duration of the trial is estimated at about four to five weeks. If convicted of murder, Davis faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Shockwave through global music industry

Tupac Shakur, born Lesane Parish Crooks and known worldwide as 2Pac, became one of hip-hop’s biggest stars in the 1990s with hits such as “California Love”, “All Eyez on Me,” and “Changes.” His career unfolded against the backdrop of the famous East Coast–West Coast rivalry, in which Tupac and Death Row Records (West Coast) were locked in a head-to-head battle against, among others, The Notorious B.I.G. and Sean “Diddy” Combs of Bad Boy Records (East Coast). These tensions escalated into violence on several occasions. In November 1994, Tupac had already been the victim of an assassination attempt near a recording studio in New York. He survived that shooting.

Who killed Tupac?

The fateful evening began on September 7, 1996, when Tupac attended a Mike Tyson boxing match in Las Vegas. Later, he was driving through the city in a black BMW with record label executive Marion “Suge” Knight. At a red light, a white Cadillac pulled up alongside them; the shots were fired from that car. Tupac was hit several times, while Knight was unharmed. Six days later, on September 13, Tupac died from his injuries. He was 25 years old.

For years, this murder remained one of the most famous unsolved cases in the United States. It was only after statements from Davis himself that the case truly took a new turn. In his memoir "Compton Street Legend" and interviews, the former leader of the South Side Compton Crips described his presence in the white Cadillac and the events of that evening.

These statements helped move the investigation forward. According to the district attorney’s office, the shooting was an act of revenge: earlier that evening, Tupac and his entourage had gotten into a altercation at a casino with Orlando“Baby Lane” Anderson, a cousin of Davis. Davis is said to have subsequently taken part in the decision to target the rapper and to have provided the weapon used.

Prosecutors do not, however, claim that Davis fired the shot himself. The exact identity of the shooter remains unclear. The other suspects who were in the Cadillac, including Anderson, have since died. Davis was arrested in September 2023 and pleaded not guilty two months later. “I did absolutely nothing,” he had stated at the time. His defense disputes the significance of his previous statements. Prosecutors, on the other hand, wish to use them to demonstrate his central role. It is not yet known whether Davis will make any new statements himself during the trial.