Jury selection began on August 10 in the trial of Duane 'Keffe D' Davis, the man charged with the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur. Davis, now 63, has pleaded not guilty and is accused of murder with a deadly weapon. If convicted, he could face life imprisonment without parole.
The 1996 shooting
Shakur, also known as 2Pac, was shot on September 7, 1996, at age 25, and died on September 13. He had attended a boxing match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with Suge Knight, then CEO of Death Row Records. Later, while riding in a black BMW sedan, a white Cadillac pulled alongside and opened fire, striking Shakur four times.
Earlier that evening, surveillance footage showed Shakur and his entourage attacking Orlando Anderson, allegedly a member of the South Side Compton Crips. Anderson was questioned but denied involvement, and was killed in a separate shooting in 1998. The case stalled for years due to lack of evidence and witnesses.
Davis's own admissions
Davis, Anderson's uncle, came under scrutiny during the investigation into the murder of Biggie Smalls (the Notorious BIG), who was killed in Los Angeles on March 9, 1997. In the mid-2000s, Davis told police he was in the white Cadillac the night of Shakur's shooting, and struck a deal for that information.
In 2018, Davis appeared on the BET docuseries Death Row Chronicles, revealing he was in the car but not who else was present. In his 2019 memoir Compton Street Legend, he claimed to have been in the vehicle and to have 'tossed' the gun into the backseat. The book's introduction reads: 'I'm one of the only living eyewitnesses to Tupac's killing.'
The book came to the attention of a Las Vegas detective, and in 2023, excerpts were read to a grand jury, which indicted Davis on one count of murder. His home was searched on July 18, 2023, and he was arrested on September 29.
Defence and prosecution arguments
Prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo said during a hearing: 'Had he never decided to take money and go on BET and talk about this situation, had he decided to never write the book, he would not, probably, have ever been prosecuted for the crime.'
Davis's defence claims the book was co-authored and embellished or fictionalised for profit, and should not be seen as an admission of guilt. Davis has insisted he did not write the book and denies he was in Nevada on the night of the murder.
Shaun Kent told the BBC: 'This is what makes this case so fascinating. The two biggest pieces of evidence against Keffe D came from Keffe D.' He added: 'Keffe D has the right to take the stand and say "I made all this up. I lied to sell copies of the book. I lied to the police. I'm a liar but I did not murder Tupac."'
The case faces uncertainty due to Davis's denial, historical lack of evidence, and the deaths of key witnesses. Many in the entertainment world and fans of that era will be watching closely.
