Three decades of theories and urban legends: The trial for 2Pac's murder begins
One of the most high-profile cases in history could be resolved if the sole defendant, Duane 'Keffe D' Davis, is convicted. He faces life in prison.
2Pac. File photo
The wait to learn the truth about this case has been far too long. After three decades, the main and only suspect accused of orchestrating the murder of rapper Tupac Amaru Shakur, also known as 2Pac, takes the stand on August 10, thus kicking off one of the most high-profile trials in recent years.
The defendant, Duane 'Keffe D' Davis, 63, and former leader of the South Side Compton Crips gang, faces a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole on a charge of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon, aggravated by membership in a criminal organization. He was arrested in September 2023 and remanded in custody.
Specifically, Davis, who has pleaded not guilty on one occasion, was not the one who fired the shots that killed 2Pac, but he was the one who ordered the murder and provided the murder weapon.
A case that has been the subject of urban legends and theories over the past 30 years.
The murder of 2Pac
To trace the origins of the case, we must go back to September 7, 1996. After attending a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas (Nevada), the rapper and a friend of his, the founder of Death Row Records, Marion 'Suge' Knight, were involved in a serious altercation with Orlando 'Baby Lane' Anderson, Davis's nephew.
According to the District Attorney's Office, Anderson told his uncle about the brawl he'd had with Shakur and Knight. Hours later, Davis got into a white Cadillac parked next to a black BMW in which the rapper was sitting; the rapper had planned to go to a club. From the back window of the Cadillac, the shooter began firing, striking 2Pac.
Duane 'Keffe D' Davis, in 2023. File photo
The artist was shot four times: twice in the chest, once in one of his arms, and once in one of his thighs. In addition, shrapnel caused injuries to his head. Knight, who was some distance from the scene of the shooting, witnessed the incident. As they were heading to a hospital, they were stopped by a police patrol. The officers, seeing the rapper's condition, alerted emergency services and he was transported to a nearby hospital.
Shakur survived for six days. On September 13, after undergoing intensive care and surgeries, the rapper died as a result of respiratory failure that led to cardiac arrest. He was 25 years old.
The case was closed
Investigators were unable to identify the perpetrator of 2Pac's murder and closed the case, leaving it unsolved. However, there was a complete turnaround when Davis, through several interviews and in his autobiography, admitted that he was in the vehicle from which the rapper was shot.
Because of these statements, the case was reopened and Davis became the sole defendant. Both he and his defense team have always maintained his innocence, pleading not guilty on multiple occasions.
In the absence of conclusive physical evidence, such as the weapon or DNA traces, and given that the other occupants of the white Cadillac have already passed away, Davis is the sole suspect. If convicted, one of the most high-profile cases in the country's history would be closed.
Who was 2Pac?
After a childhood marked by poverty, 2Pac began to take an interest in various artistic fields such as poetry, theater, literature, and ballet. He began his musical career as a rapper in the early '90s with the group Digital Underground. In 1991, he released his first album, 2Pacalypse Now, which quickly catapulted him to stardom.
With songs like "Keep Ya Head Up," "Dear Mama," "Changes," and "Hail Mary," 2Pac achieved worldwide recognition. His international success was cemented with the album All Eyez on Me (1996). He also appeared in several films as a supporting actor.
He was involved in several controversies, for which he was even convicted. In 1994, he survived an assassination attempt in New York; a year later, he was imprisoned after being charged with sexual assault.
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