Trial begins in Tupac Shakur's 1996 murder case.
Duane 'Keffe D' Davis, 63, stood trial Monday in Las Vegas on a charge of murder with a deadly weapon in the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur. Davis has pleaded not guilty.
- Shakur was struck four times and died six days after the September 7, 1996 shooting.
- 27 years passed before Davis was indicted in 2023 — the first arrest in the case.
- Three other men alleged to have been in the car with Davis have since died.
- Death Row Records co-founder Marion 'Suge' Knight appears on the prosecution witness list.
Why it matters: Prosecutors say Davis organized the shooting as retaliation after Shakur's entourage beat Davis' nephew at the MGM Grand hours earlier. Under Nevada law, organizing a killing carries the same murder charge as pulling the trigger.
- Davis' 2019 memoir and 2018 media interviews revived a cold case and became the prosecution's central evidence.
- Prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo stated: 'Had he decided to never write the book, he would not, probably, have ever been prosecuted for the crime.'
How 36 sources split on this story
Where they split: The core dispute is whether Davis' memoir and public statements are credible admissions or fictionalized accounts written for commercial gain.
Center coverage, 20 sources: The center focuses on procedural detail — the evidence pathway from Davis' public statements to prosecution, and the legal arguments on both sides.
Left coverage, 11 sources: The left frames the trial primarily through Shakur's cultural legacy and the emotional weight the case carries for his family and the hip-hop community.
Right coverage, 5 sources: The right emphasizes Davis' gang leadership background, his prior role as a confidential informant, and the admissibility battle over his 2008 interview.
What’s next: Knight has said he does not intend to cooperate if called to testify, per Fox News.
- Co-author Yusuf Jah is on the witness list; he told an investigator he did not believe Davis fully read his own book.
- No account — Davis' or prosecutors' — identifies who actually fired the shots at Shakur.
- Whether Suge Knight will testify and what he would say remains unresolved.
- The killing of Christopher Wallace in 1997 remains unsolved; its connection to this case has not been established in court.
