Trial Over Rapper 2Pac's Murder Begins Monday

A decades-old murder case is back in the spotlight as a former gang leader faces trial in Las Vegas for the killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, known by his stage name 2Pac. The trial, commencing Monday, is expected to last a month and tackles one of the United States' most prominent unsolved homicides.

The prosecution intends to prove that the defendant, 63-year-old Duane "Keffe D" Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips gang, ordered the murder and supplied the weapon. Davis was arrested in September 2023 based on statements made in his 2019 memoir, where he claimed to have been in the front passenger seat of the Cadillac from which shots were fired at Shakur. He also stated he handed a gun to those in the back seat, though he did not name the shooter.

Shakur was shot on September 7, 1996, in Las Vegas while attending a Mike Tyson boxing match. He died in the hospital six days later at the age of 25. The investigation had stalled for decades due to a lack of evidence until Davis's book reignited interest. All other individuals believed to have been in the Cadillac that night have since died.

Davis has pleaded not guilty, asserting his innocence. "I am innocent. I have not killed anyone. I have never killed anyone," Davis stated in a March 2025 interview from jail, claiming his co-author exaggerated the book for sales. Shakur, a Grammy-winning rapper, activist, and actor, sold over 75 million albums worldwide and was a central figure in the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop rivalry. His murder, along with that of The Notorious B.I.G. in 1997, remains a significant event in music history.