Tupac Shakur's killer convicted three decades after the rapper's death

Las Vegas police hold a press briefing on the arrest and indictment of Duane Davis, a suspect in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, on Sept. 29, 2023. [Getty Images]
Las Vegas police hold a press briefing on the arrest and indictment of Duane Davis, a suspect in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, on Sept. 29, 2023. [Getty Images]

The man who killed legendary rapper Tupac Shakur, one of the defining figures of American hip-hop in the 1990s, has been found guilty — 30 years after the crime.

A jury in Clark County District Court in Nevada unanimously convicted Duane Keffe D Davis, 63, of first-degree murder on Monday (local time), according to the Associated Press and CNN.

Davis now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 13.

Tupac was the face of West Coast hip-hop in the 1990s, a global superstar known for hits including "California Love" and "Dear Mama." On the night of Sept. 7, 1996, he was shot while riding in a vehicle in Las Vegas.

Multiple bullets struck the vehicle. Tupac was rushed to a hospital with critical injuries but died six days later, on Sept. 13.

The shooting immediately sparked widespread speculation, but neither the killer nor the motive was ever established, leaving the case unsolved for nearly three decades.

Davis, the leader of the South Side Compton Crips gang in Los Angeles, had long been considered a prime suspect, but concrete evidence was lacking.

The turning point came in 2019.

Davis published an autobiography in which he admitted to ordering the killing and supplying the weapon.

According to the book, Davis said he pursued Tupac's entourage in retaliation after his nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, was assaulted by Tupac's group. When Tupac leaned out of the vehicle, Davis said he passed a gun to a passenger in the back seat.

Davis later said not everything in the autobiography was true and claimed he had exaggerated some details to sell books.

Prosecutors pushed back, saying his earlier statements could not simply be dismissed as fiction.

They presented police interrogation recordings, the autobiography and past media interviews, arguing that Davis's repeated descriptions of the killing were credible.

Prosecutors also charged Davis with first-degree murder under Nevada law, which allows a conviction even if the defendant did not pull the trigger, as long as they planned or participated in the crime.

The jury ultimately sided with the prosecution.

When the verdict was read, Tupac's family members embraced one another and wept in the courtroom. The trial drew wide attention as it finally resolved a mystery that had gone unsolved for 30 years.

Davis's legal team immediately said they would appeal.


betterj@heraldcorp.com