Thirty years on, a trial finally opens in Tupac Shakur's killing
A trial has begun in Las Vegas for Duane 'Keffe D' Davis, who is accused of ordering the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur. Prosecutors aim to link the killing to a violent rivalry between Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records.
Why it matters
The trial addresses one of the most famous cold cases in American music history, potentially providing closure to a decades-old mystery involving high-profile cultural figures.
A former gang leader goes on trial Monday (August 10, 2026) in Las Vegas, U.S. , over the decades-old murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, one of America's most high-profile unresolved murders.
The proceedings, expected to last a month, will likely not make clear who fired the shots that killed the hip-hop legend on the night of September 7, 1996 while he was in Sin City to see a Mike Tyson boxing match.
But prosecutors aim to show that the defendant, Duane "Keffe D" Davis, the onetime leader of the South Side Compton Crips, ordered the killing and provided the gun used to kill Shakur in a drive-by shooting.
Mr. Davis, 63, faces life in prison without parole if convicted.
The killing of Shakur, also known as 2Pac, is one of America's most celebrated cold cases, prompting endless debate among music fans over who did it and why.
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