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Duane “Keffe D” Davis is set to face trial nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was killed in a 1996 shooting in Las Vegas.
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Davis, the only person charged in connection with the rapper’s death, has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder with a deadly weapon.
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Prosecutors will rely on Davis’ past interviews and his memoir as evidence, while his defence team argues that his statements were exaggerated.
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The trial will revisit the events surrounding Tupac’s death and could bring fresh attention to one of hip-hop’s biggest unsolved cases.
August 07, (THEWILL) — Nearly three decades after Tupac Shakur was killed, the only person charged in connection with the rapper’s murder is set to face trial.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis, now 63, is scheduled to appear in court on August 10, 2026, in Las Vegas, where he will face one count of murder with a deadly weapon and a gang-related allegation. He has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors do not need to prove that Davis fired the gun. Instead, they are expected to argue that he played a role in organising the attack and provided the weapon used in the shooting.
Tupac was shot on September 7, 1996, after attending a Mike Tyson boxing match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. He was travelling in a BMW driven by Death Row Records founder Marion “Suge” Knight when another vehicle pulled alongside and gunfire erupted. The rapper died six days later at the age of 25.
READ ALSO: Keefe D Confesses To Being Hired By Diddy To Kill Tupac For $1m
The case remained unsolved for years before Davis was arrested in 2023. Authorities have pointed to his previous interviews and his 2019 memoir, “Compton Street Legend”, as key parts of the investigation.
Davis has spoken publicly about the shooting over the years, but his defence team has argued that his comments were exaggerated and made to boost his public image rather than provide an accurate account of what happened.
Public interest in the case grew again after the December 2025 release of the Netflix docuseries “Sean Combs: The Reckoning”, which revisited the events surrounding Tupac’s death and featured past interviews and statements from Davis about the 1996 shooting.
The renewed attention around the case also led to legal action from Tupac’s family in May 2026, with his stepbrother Maurice “Mopreme” Shakur filing a wrongful death lawsuit against Davis as the family continues to seek answers about the rapper’s killing.
Ahead of the criminal trial, Davis’ lawyer Michael Sanft has maintained that his client is innocent. Sanft said he took the case without a retainer and believes Davis should not have remained in custody longer than necessary.
READ ALSO: Tupac Shakur’s Family Files Lawsuit Seeking Justice Over 1996 Murder
The defence has challenged the prosecution’s evidence, but District Judge Carli Kierny recently allowed Davis’ book and past police statements to remain part of the case. Prosecutors are expected to rely heavily on those previous statements as they build their argument during the trial.
Tupac Shakur’s death remains one of the most talked-about cases in music history. The trial could provide new details about the events that ended the life of one of hip-hop’s most influential artists.
Evi-Ben Ezaga is an entertainment and society writer with a passion for stories that explore culture, people, and the stories shaping society today.
