For almost 30 years, one of pop culture’s most enduring questions has been: “Who killed Tupac?”
Today, a jury gave a partial answer to that question, finding that Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis orchestrated the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996.
Shakur was one of the biggest names in hip hop when he was murdered in Las Vegas, aged 25.
Davis denied being involved in the murder, pleaded not guilty, and has said he will appeal the ruling.
Here’s what you need to know.
Tupac
Shakur, also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor.
He is one of the best-selling artists of all time, rising to prominence with albums including ‘All Eyez on Me’ and ‘Me Against the World’.
Shakur served eight months in prison on sexual abuse charges but was released on bail in 1995, pending an appeal.
In 1996, at age 25, the rapper was murdered in a drive-by shooting.
Tupac’s death
At the time of his death, Shakur was signed to Death Row Records.
The Los Angeles-based record label had links to the Bloods, one of the city’s two major rival gangs that started in the 1970s.
Duane Davis and his nephew Orlando Anderson were linked to the Bloods’ rival gang, the Crips.
The two gangs have a long history of conflict.
On 7 September 1996, Shakur was in Las Vegas for a boxing match with Suge Knight, the head of his record label.
Afterwards, he and his group got into a physical fight with Anderson at the MGM Grand casino.
Hours later, Shakur was riding in a car with Knight when another car pulled up alongside them and someone opened fire.
The rapper was shot four times.
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He died six days later, aged 25.
No one was arrested at the time.
The gun and getaway car were never found.
Investigation
Police questioned Anderson in October 1996 over Shakur’s death but there was little forensic evidence and he was never charged.
In May 1998, Anderson was killed in an unrelated gang shootout.
The investigation into Shakur’s murder was reopened after Davis wrote a 2019 memoir detailing his alleged role in the shooting.
He also gave multiple interviews about what happened on the night of Shakur’s death.
A Vegas detective used excerpts from the book as evidence to arrest Davis in September 2023.
Verdict
Davis faced one count of murder with a deadly weapon, with prosecutors arguing he ordered the killing and supplied the gun.
They say it was retaliation for the fight involving Shakur, Knight and Davis’ nephew, Anderson, who prosecutors argued was the actual shooter.
Davis pleaded not guilty and maintains he didn’t kill anyone.
After a trial in Las Vegas, in the U.S. state of Nevada, the jury took three hours to find him guilty of first-degree murder today.
First-degree murder means the killing was carried out with forethought and intent, not by accident.
Before they went to deliberate, the judge in this case told the jury that under Nevada law, a person can be convicted of first-degree murder for organising the killing of another person.
The verdict means jurors agreed with the prosecution’s argument that Davis didn’t fire the gun himself, but handed it to the person who did.
Davis has said he will appeal the ruling.
