Tupac Shakur M*rder Trial Begins Nearly 30 Years Later, Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis Faces Possible Life Sentence

Keefe D, Tupac

Tupac Shakur M*rder Trial Begins Nearly 30 Years Later, Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis Faces Possible Life Sentence

Nearly three decades after Tupac Shakur was fatally shot in Las Vegas, the only person ever charged in connection with the hip-hop legend’s killing is heading to trial.

Opening statements in Duane “Keefe D” Davis’ murder trial are set to begin Monday. Davis, 63, was arrested in September 2023 and charged with murder with the use of a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. He has pleaded not guilty and maintains his innocence.

Prosecutors allege Davis orchestrated the September 1996 attack, though they do not accuse him of personally firing the weapon that killed Tupac. Authorities claim the shooting was retaliation for an altercation earlier that night at the MGM Grand involving Tupac, Suge Knight and Davis’ nephew Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson. Prosecutors are expected to rely heavily on Davis’ previous accounts of the shooting, including statements made in interviews and his 2019 memoir. Davis has since claimed those accounts were lies.

A jury consisting of six men and 10 women will hear the case. Several jurors were either young children when Tupac was killed or had not yet been born. Davis has waived his right to have the jury determine his sentence, meaning Judge Carli Kierny will decide his punishment if he is convicted. He faces a possible maximum sentence of life in prison.

Suge Knight, who was driving the BMW Tupac was riding in when the shooting occurred and was also injured, has said he does not want to testify. Speaking from prison ahead of the trial, Knight said, “Leave me out of it.” Tupac was shot on Sept. 7, 1996, and died six days later at age 25.