Who killed Tupac Shakur? What to know after Duane Davis’s murder conviction

A Las Vegas jury convicted Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, of first-degree murder on August 31 for orchestrating rapper Tupac Shakur‘s fatal 1996 shooting, delivering accountability nearly three decades after hip-hop’s most notorious unsolved killing.

TL;DR

• A Las Vegas jury found Duane “Keffe D” Davis guilty of first-degree murder on August 31, after an 11-day trial.
• Prosecutors said Davis supplied the gun and orchestrated the drive-by shooting that killed Shakur on September 7, 1996.
• Davis faces up to life in prison without parole. Sentencing is set for October 13.
• The case leaned heavily on Davis’s own police interviews and his 2019 memoir, “Compton Street Legend.”

What happened the night Tupac Shakur was shot

Shakur, then 25, was in Las Vegas to watch a Mike Tyson fight at the MGM Grand on September 7, 1996. A casino lobby brawl broke out between his entourage and Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, Davis’s nephew.

Hours later, shots were fired from a white Cadillac into the BMW carrying Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight on the Las Vegas Strip, according to CNN. Shakur died six days later, on September 13, at University Medical Center, less than two miles from the courthouse where Davis would eventually stand trial.

25 — Shakur’s age when he was shot Source: NBC Los Angeles

Who is Duane “Keffe D” Davis?

Duane Davis is a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips. He was arrested in September 2023 and has been held without bail since, following years of public statements about the killing, including a 2008 interview with police and the DEA and a 2019 memoir.

No one had ever been charged in Shakur’s death until Davis began describing his own role. Davis is the only person from the car that night who is still alive, according to NPR.

How prosecutors secured a conviction

Closing arguments wrapped on August 31 after testimony from more than two dozen witnesses. Jurors deliberated for just under three hours before convicting Davis, CNN reported.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told jurors that Davis and Anderson “went hunting” for Shakur and Knight after the earlier brawl, according to CBS News. Palal argued the shooting was premeditated. “It’s a plan, not an impulse,” he said.

Prosecutors leaned on Davis’s memoir and recorded interviews rather than physical evidence, since most other witnesses from that night are now dead. In rebuttal, Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo dismissed defense claims of inconsistency, calling the case against Davis “a slam dunk,” per CNN.

Defense attorney Michael Sanft countered that Davis fabricated his confessions for money and fame, and pointed to a lack of forensic evidence placing his client inside the Cadillac. Sanft has argued Davis was never previously charged because investigators considered him “full of crap,” according to NBC Los Angeles.

The Diddy rumours, and what the trial actually showed

Sean “Diddy” Combs’s name has trailed this case for years. Fans and journalists have long speculated that the Bad Boy Records founder played some role, given his label’s rivalry with Knight’s Death Row Records in the 1990s.

During the trial, a witness testified that money tied to an associate identified as Zip Martin was allegedly intended to reach Davis, according to Rolling Stone’s coverage of the verdict. Sean “Diddy” Combs has consistently and firmly denied any involvement in Shakur’s death and was not charged in this case.

Combs is currently serving a separate 50-month federal sentence following a 2025 conviction on prostitution-related transportation counts, an unrelated matter, Rolling Stone reported.

What happens next

Judge Carli Kierny scheduled sentencing for October 13, after prosecutors dropped a proposed gang enhancement over witness logistics. Davis faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Before he was led from the courtroom, Davis told the judge he wanted his electronics returned and said he intends to appeal, according to Rolling Stone.

30 — Years between the shooting and a conviction Source: The Washington Post

Shakur’s sister, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, was seen crying and embracing family members as the verdict was read, according to CNN. The family will mark the anniversary of his death on September 13 — for the first time knowing someone has been held responsible.

Where UK fans can revisit the case

For UK readers wanting the fuller story, British documentarian Nick Broomfield’s Biggie & Tupac investigates both rappers’ unsolved killings and is currently streaming on Netflix in the UK. It remains one of the most-cited investigations into the case from a UK filmmaker.

That documentary predates this verdict, so it doesn’t cover Davis’s conviction — but it’s a useful primer on the decades of theories the trial has now, at least partly, put to rest.

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Reported from publicly available interviews and verified press sources. Last reviewed September 2, 2026.