LAS VEGAS: Nearly three decades after the killing of rap legend Tupac Shakur, a Las Vegas jury has found Duane Keith Davis, 63, guilty of his murder, bringing a major development in one of the music industry’s most infamous unsolved cases.
Shakur was shot four times while travelling in a vehicle near the Las Vegas Strip on September 7, 1996. He died in hospital several days later at the age of 25.
Prosecutors accused Davis of helping plan the deadly attack, although he was not alleged to have fired the shots himself. The case relied heavily on statements Davis had made over the years, including details published in his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, and recorded interviews in which he described what happened on the night of the shooting.
Davis had said the shooting was linked to retaliation after Shakur and members of his group were involved in an altercation with Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, at the MGM Grand earlier that night. Investigators said a white Cadillac later pulled alongside the vehicle carrying Shakur and Marion “Suge” Knight before shots were fired.
The verdict brings some closure to Shakur’s family and fans after years of questions surrounding his death. His murder had remained one of the most widely discussed cases in hip-hop history, with investigators previously citing limited physical evidence and difficulties securing cooperation from witnesses.
