Tupac Shakur murder trial begins 30 years after rapper’s death

Court proceedings commenced on Monday, marking a 30-year investigation into the unsolved murder of hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur. The trial, spanning approximately a month, will not definitively reveal who pulled the trigger during the September 7, 1996, drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, though prosecutors intend to demonstrate that defendant Duane "Keffe D" Davis orchestrated the crime and supplied the firearm.

The trial began with jury selection, expected to conclude within the week. Davis, now 63, faces a life sentence without parole if found guilty. Shakur, also known as 2Pac, was a pivotal figure in the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop rivalry, boasting hits like California Love and All Eyez on Me. The rapper, born to a Black Panther parent, rose to fame with Death Row Records before a feud with Sean "Diddy" Combs and his label, Bad Boy Records, escalated.

Davis, the former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, is accused of ordering the murder and providing the weapon after a confrontation involving Shakur's nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, who was assaulted by Death Row Records representatives. The investigation was reignited in 2019 following the publication of Davis's memoirs, which detailed his involvement in the crime.

However, Davis has since claimed he was in Los Angeles during the incident and maintains his innocence, citing missing evidence and a fabricated account in his book. The trial's outcome may not pacify Shakur's family and friends, who filed a civil lawsuit in May alleging ongoing accountability for the crime, citing Davis's admission in a recent police interview that Combs offered him $1 million to kill Shakur.