Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was gunned down on the Las Vegas Strip, one of hip-hop's most infamous unsolved murder cases is finally heading to trial-and the biggest witness against the accused may effectively be the accused himself.
Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, is set to face a jury over the September 1996 killing of Tupac, with jury selection beginning Monday. Davis has pleaded not guilty to murder with the use of a deadly weapon and faces up to life in prison if convicted.
But here's where things get messy.
For years before his arrest, Davis publicly discussed the night Tupac was killed. He wrote about it in his 2019 memoir Compton Street Legend, appeared in documentaries and interviews, and gave accounts to law enforcement. Prosecutors now plan to use those statements as a major part of their case.
There is reportedly no murder weapon, getaway car or surveillance footage for jurors to examine. Instead, prosecutors will attempt to convince them that Davis was telling the truth when he repeatedly described his alleged involvement in the events surrounding Tupac's death.
The defense has quite the task ahead of it: convincing jurors that Davis should not be believed.
Since his 2023 arrest, Davis has maintained his innocence and argued that earlier claims were false or exaggerated to sell books and generate publicity. His defense has also blamed his memoir's co-author for including inaccurate information.
That creates an almost unbelievable courtroom reversal. Prosecutors will essentially argue that Davis' previous stories were credible, while his own attorneys are expected to attack the reliability of the things their client said and wrote.
The case dates back to Sept. 7, 1996, when Tupac and Death Row Records boss Marion "Suge" Knight were traveling through Las Vegas after attending the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon fight. A Cadillac pulled alongside their BMW and shots were fired. Tupac died six days later at age 25.
Prosecutors allege Davis was involved in the retaliation that followed an earlier confrontation involving Tupac, Knight and Davis' nephew Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson. Davis previously told law enforcement that after Anderson was assaulted, he obtained a gun and joined Anderson and two other men in searching for Tupac and Knight.
Davis later went public.
In a 2018 BET interview, he discussed being in the vehicle from which the shots were fired. His 2019 memoir went considerably further, describing retaliation, obtaining a Glock and searching Las Vegas for Tupac.
Those media appearances could now become crucial evidence against him.
A judge has ruled that jurors can hear material from Davis' book and media interviews. Prosecutors have even sought to demonstrate that portions of his memoir correspond with independently established details, while acknowledging that the book also contains inaccuracies and hyperbole.
And then there's Suge Knight.
Knight survived the 1996 shooting and appears on the prosecution's witness list, although he previously said he would not testify. He is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence stemming from a fatal hit-and-run.
Nearly three decades after Tupac's death, fading memories, deceased witnesses and questions about credibility could make the trial extraordinarily complicated.
But one question may loom over everything jurors hear: Which version of Keffe D are they supposed to believe?
The man who spent years publicly discussing the night Tupac died-or the defendant who now says those stories shouldn't be trusted?
For Tupac's family and fans, the proceedings could finally provide answers in a murder mystery that has fueled theories, documentaries, books and endless speculation for almost 30 years.
For Davis, however, all those years of talking may have created a very different legacy: the words that once helped sell his story could now help prosecutors try to send him to prison for life.
