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30 years after Tupac Shakur's murder, the trial begins against the alleged "mastermind" of the shooting

Duane "Keffe D" Davis is charged of organising the murder of Tupac in revenge for a beating.
Javier Escribano Editor Spain 18 August 2026

Rapper Tupac Shakur was shot dead on September 13, 1996; thirty years later, the trial officially begins with Duane "Keffe D" Davis as the suspect of ordering Tupac's murder. Davis was arrested in 2023, the first and only person charged with the murder, and prosecutors accuse him of being the mastermind of the attack, which was an act of revenge for the beating of his nephew earlier that evening.

It is believed that Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, Davis' nephew, was the one that pulled the trigger and killed Tupac, although he was never charged. He died two years later in an unrelated shooting. Shakur was shot from a car, a White Cadillac, which allegedly had four passengers: Davis, Anderson, and two other suspects who are also dead.

Prosecutors are using audio and videos that show Davis displaying a "visceral anger" against Shakur decades after his death. They will also use Davis' memoirs, Compton Street Legend, published in 2019, in which he claims he was in the Cadillac and handed the gun to Anderson, as proof; Davis' attorneys will try to convince this was a work of fiction.

Editor Spain Javier Escribano wrote for Gamereactor from 2024, covering sport alongside video games and world news. His work appeared on the Spanish and international editions.
Full profile Gamereactor author since 2024 · 5,329 published articles
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