Accused in Murder of Hip-Hop Icon Tupac Shakur Goes on Trial After 30 Years as Jury Selection Begins

Las Vegas: Almost 30 years after hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur was fatally shot near the Las Vegas Strip, the trial of the man accused of orchestrating his killing got underway this week with the start of jury selection.

Lawyers began screening prospective jurors Monday in a case tied to one of hip-hop's most defining and long-unresolved mysteries.

Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, has denied the charge of murder with a deadly weapon carried out to further criminal gang activity in connection with Shakur's death. At the time of the shooting, Davis was a member of the South Side Compton Crips gang in California.

Media outlets reported that members of Shakur's family were present at the Las Vegas courthouse as jury selection began, a process expected to run for much of the week. Shakur's cousin, Kendrick Lesane, said anyone found responsible for orchestrating or participating in the killing deserved to be imprisoned.

A cultural legend, three decades on

Even 30 years after his death, Shakur, son of political activist and Black Panther member Afeni Shaku, remains widely regarded as one of hip-hop's most influential and versatile artists. He was just 25 when he died, with his fourth solo album having already sold five million copies. On September 7, 1996, Shakur was riding in a BMW alongside music executive Marion "Suge" Knight when a white Cadillac pulled alongside them at a traffic signal and opened fire. Shakur, seated in the passenger seat, was hit multiple times and died six days later while Knight survived the attack.

The investigation stalled for years until the accused Davis's public comments and a 2019 memoir reignited interest in the case, eventually leading to his arrest in 2023.

Prosecutors have not alleged that Davis fired the fatal shots, and the trial is not expected to conclusively establish who did. Instead, the prosecution intends to argue that Davis orchestrated the killing by making the relevant calls and supplying the weapon used.

Davis's memoir, "Compton Street Legends," offers a detailed account of the shooting, describing how he obtained a handgun from an associate and placed it in the back seat of the Cadillac — though it stops short of naming the actual shooter. His nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, has long been suspected of pulling the trigger but was never formally charged; he died two years after Shakur in an unrelated shooting in Compton. Two other men in the vehicle that night, Deandrae "Freaky" Smith and Terry "Bubble Up" Brown, have also since died.

News of the trial's start drew reactions from the public, with many expressing a mix of relief and disbelief that the case was finally moving forward after decades of uncertainty, and reflecting on how young Shakur was at the time of his death.

According to a report by the Associated Press, prosecutors anticipate calling between 35 and 45 witnesses over the course of the trial, including individuals who saw Shakur shortly before the shooting and others connected to both Shakur and Davis at the time. The witness list includes former Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman and members of Shakur's family.

Knight, currently serving a 28-year prison sentence for a fatal 2015 hit-and-run in Compton, remains a potential witness as the only other living eyewitness from the vehicles present that night — though he has previously said he does not intend to testify.

Speculation has also swirled around whether infamous rapper and music producer Sean "Diddy" Combs might testify, though his name does not appear on any official witness list; he is currently serving a four-year sentence in New Jersey following a conviction on prostitution-related charges. In his memoir, Davis alleged that Combs had offered him money to kill both Knight and Shakur — an accusation Combs has consistently denied.