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Opening statements begin in long-awaited trial almost 30 years after hip-hop star Tupac Shakur was murdered
Jurors in the murder trial of Duane 'Keffe D' Davis heard a 2008 recording in which he told detectives his nephew fired the fatal shots at Tupac Shakur. Prosecutors allege Davis orchestrated the killing in retaliation, while the defense calls the narrative 'fiction.'
Jurors in the murder trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis listened on Thursday to a 2008 interview in which Davis told detectives that his nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, fired the shots that killed Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas in 1996. Davis, 63, is accused of orchestrating the killing of the 25-year-old hip-hop superstar.
In the recording, Davis said he was in the car with Anderson when the white Cadillac they were riding in, with two other men, pulled up alongside a car carrying Shakur and Marion "Suge" Knight, the head of Death Row Records. "If we would have been on my side, I would have blasted," Davis said, according to the Associated Press and CBS News. Instead, Knight's car was on the other side, so Davis said he passed his gun to Deandre "Big Dre" Smith. Smith did not want it, Davis said, and Anderson took the weapon and began firing.
At the time of the 2008 interview, Anderson had been dead for a decade. Davis's account marked the first time he directly discussed his involvement in the killing with authorities, and the recording is considered essential evidence in the state's case against him, as reported by the Associated Press and CBS News.
In opening statements earlier in the trial, Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told jurors that Davis is the "one person who has a hard time being silent," according to Euronews.com. Palal said Davis did not pull the trigger but planned the shooting in retaliation for the beating of his nephew hours earlier. Davis has pleaded not guilty.
The courtroom scene
As the transcript of the audio recording rolled on a screen, jurors watched, some taking notes. At the beginning of the interview, Davis and his attorney whispered to each other. Shakur's family sat still, occasionally looking at the screen or down at the floor. The room was quiet as Davis described the shooting, according to the Associated Press, CBS News, and The Guardian.
Some of Shakur's family members, including his stepbrother Maurice "Mopreme" Shakur, listened intently from the audience, Euronews.com reported. Earlier in the week, some family members stepped out of the courtroom before prosecutors showed autopsy photos, according to CBS News.
Prosecution's case
Prosecutors told jurors they would rely heavily on Davis's own admissions in interviews with police, on podcasts, and in his 2019 memoir, "Compton Street Legend," which he co-authored, as reported by the Associated Press and CBS News.
Palal showed jurors video of Shakur's entourage attacking Anderson outside a boxing match at the MGM Grand on 7 September 1996, just hours before the shooting, according to Euronews.com. Davis spent the next two hours planning to get even, Palal said, and Shakur was gunned down "in an act of revenge."
Palal said Davis talked to the FBI in 1998 and 1999, admitting he was in Las Vegas at the time of the shooting. The prosecutor also said that in 2009, Davis admitted his role in an interview with Las Vegas police, and he told jurors: "30 years later, we're going to ask you to finally hold Duane Davis accountable," as reported by Euronews.com.
Defense's response
Davis's lawyer, Michael Sanft, called the prosecution's narrative "fiction" and said Davis was "full of crap" when he told stories of his involvement, according to multiple outlets. The defense argued that Davis was not previously charged because law enforcement knew his claims were unreliable, and pointed to missing documents and distrust between police departments, calling one detective's work "biased," "sloppy," and "incomplete," Euronews.com reported.
No one was charged in the shooting until Davis was indicted in 2023. The other three men who were in the Cadillac have all died in the years since, according to Euronews.com.
Davis previously told the FBI that his nephew was not involved and speculated that Knight or Sean "Diddy" Combs were involved, as reported by the Associated Press and CBS News.
Witness testimony
Retired Las Vegas police officer Garry Dale testified that he and another officer stopped Knight and Shakur's car for a missing license plate, warned them, and let them go. About 10 minutes later, they responded to a shooting call and found EMTs pulling Shakur from the car, Euronews.com reported. Dale said Knight had been grazed by bullets but told officers to take care of Shakur. When Dale asked Shakur who shot him, Shakur said something like "no, we'll take care of it."
Former Las Vegas homicide detective Brent Becker testified that Knight showed up to a police interview with attorneys, was timid and practiced in his answers, and said he knew nothing. Becker said he thought Knight lied, and that it was difficult to get witnesses to talk. Police had been focusing on Davis, Anderson, Deandrae "Freaky" Smith, and Terry "Bubble Up" Brown as the men in the Cadillac, according to Euronews.com.
Broader context
Davis was brought in by Los Angeles police detectives in 2008 to discuss the 1997 shooting death of Notorious B.I.G., for which Davis was briefly a suspect before being discounted. Detective Daryn Dupree testified, "Everybody was a suspect at that time," as reported by the Associated Press and CBS News. CBS affiliate KLAS-TV reported that Dupree was on a task force investigating the murder of Christopher Wallace, also known as Biggie Smalls.
During the 2008 interview, detectives told Davis the discussion was confidential. Greg Kading said, "Nothing you say today can be used against you." Some in the audience shook their heads when someone in the audio said "nothing leaves this room," according to the Associated Press and CBS News. Prosecutors argue Davis "go out there and start talking" a decade later, nullifying any agreement.
KLAS-TV investigative reporter Vanessa Murphy conducted multiple jailhouse interviews with Davis since his arrest, including one in which Davis said he wasn't even in Las Vegas the night of the shooting, CBS News reported.
Davis remains a cultural icon and is considered one of the most influential and versatile rappers of all time. The trial is expected to last about a month, with 35 to 45 witnesses, according to Euronews.com.
How each outlet told it
Associated Press
Framing: Headline emphasizes the 2008 confession to detectives that nephew fired the shots, focusing on the content of the audio rather than trial progress. — measured — describes the courtroom scene and evidence without dramatic language.
Facts Included:
Jurors on Thursday heard Duane 'Keffe D' Davis tell detectives in 2008 that his nephew Orlando 'Baby Lane' Anderson fired the shots that killed Tupac Shakur.
Davis said he was also in the car with Anderson.
Davis is accused of orchestrating the 1996 killing of the 25-year-old hip-hop superstar in Las Vegas.
At the time of the interview, his nephew had been dead for a decade.
Davis said the white Cadillac he and Anderson were riding in with two other men pulled up alongside a car with Shakur inside, along with Marion 'Suge' Knight.
Davis said he passed his gun back to Deandre 'Big Dre' Smith, who didn't want it, and Anderson took the weapon and started firing.
Jurors watched the transcript of the audio recording roll, some took notes, Davis and his attorney whispered, and Shakur's family sat still.
It was the first time Davis directly discussed his involvement in the killing with authorities.
The interview is essential evidence in the state's case against the 63-year-old Davis.
Prosecutors told jurors they would rely on Davis' admissions in interviews, podcasts, and the 2019 memoir 'Compton Street Legend.'
Davis previously told the FBI that his nephew was not involved and speculated Knight or Sean 'Diddy' Combs were involved.
Davis has pleaded not guilty; his lawyer called the prosecution's narrative 'fiction' and said Davis was 'full of crap.'
The Los Angeles police detectives had brought Davis in to talk about the 1997 shooting death of Notorious B.I.G.; Davis was a suspect but discounted.
Detective Daryn Dupree testified 'Everybody was a suspect at that time.'
Detectives told Davis their discussion was confidential; Greg Kading said 'Nothing you say today can be used against you.'
Some in the audience shook heads when someone said 'nothing leaves this room.'
Prosecutors say Davis 'go out there and start talking' a decade later, nullifying any agreement.
Prosecutors allege Shakur was killed to avenge Shakur's entourage attacking Anderson hours earlier at MGM Grand after a Mike Tyson fight.
Davis was at the fight but not the brawl.
Later, they saw Shakur hanging out of a black BMW with people calling out 'Tupac!'
Davis said after Lane fired, he thought Knight was dead.
Shakur is a cultural icon and one of the most influential rappers.
Framing: Headline frames the audio as 'recounts moments before shooting,' focusing on the narrative content rather than trial proceedings. — measured — descriptive and factual.
Facts Included:
Jurors on Thursday heard Davis tell detectives in 2008 that his nephew Orlando 'Baby Lane' Anderson fired the shots that killed Tupac Shakur.
Davis said he was also in the car.
Davis is accused of orchestrating the 1996 killing.
Nephew had been dead for a decade.
Davis described the white Cadillac pulling up alongside Shakur's car with Suge Knight.
Davis said 'If we would have been on my side, I would have blasted.'
He passed his gun to Deandre 'Big Dre' Smith, who didn't want it; Anderson took it and fired.
Jurors watched transcript; some took notes; Davis and attorney whispered; family sat still.
It was the first time Davis directly discussed his involvement with authorities.
Interview is essential evidence.
Prosecutors will rely on admissions in interviews, podcasts, and the memoir.
Davis previously told FBI his nephew was not involved and speculated Knight or Diddy were involved.
Davis pleaded not guilty; lawyer called narrative 'fiction' and said Davis was 'full of crap.'
LA detectives brought Davis in to talk about Notorious B.I.G.'s 1997 shooting; Davis was a suspect but discounted.
Detective Daryn Dupree testified 'Everybody was a suspect at that time.'
Detectives told Davis the discussion was confidential; Kading said 'Nothing you say today can be used against you.'
Some in audience shook heads when 'nothing leaves this room.'
Prosecutors say Davis 'go out there and start talking' later, nullifying agreement.
CBS affiliate KLAS-TV reported Dupree was on task force investigating Biggie Smalls' murder.
KLAS-TV reported Vanessa Murphy had jailhouse interviews with Davis, including one where Davis said he wasn't in Las Vegas the night of shooting.
Prosecutors allege motive was revenge for attack on Anderson at MGM Grand after boxing match involving Mike Tyson.
Davis was at the Tyson fight but not the brawl.
Later they saw Shakur hanging out of black BMW; Davis said after Lane fired, he thought Knight was dead; Knight suffered graze wound.
Earlier this week, some family members stepped out during autopsy photos.
Framing: Headline emphasizes the long-awaited trial and opening statements, more than the specific details of the confession. — measured — reports opening statements and testimony without overt emotion.
Facts Included:
Opening statements began on Monday in the trial.
Prosecutor Binu Palal said Davis is the 'one person who has a hard time being silent.'
Palal said Davis did not pull the trigger but planned the shooting in retaliation for his nephew's beating.
Davis could get life in prison if convicted of murder with a deadly weapon with intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang.
Davis has pleaded not guilty.
Defense attorney Michael Sanft slammed the prosecution's narrative as 'fiction.'
Palal showed video of Shakur's entourage attacking Davis' nephew Orlando 'Baby Lane' Anderson outside the boxing match at MGM Grand hours before the shooting on 7 September 1996.
Davis spent two hours planning to get even, and Shakur was gunned down 'in an act of revenge.'
In a 2008 interview with a federal task force, Davis described handing a gun to men in a white Cadillac that fired on a black BMW with Shakur and Knight.
Shakur's family, including stepbrother Maurice 'Mopreme' Shakur, listened intently.
Palal said Davis talked to FBI in 1998 and 1999, admitting he was in Las Vegas at the time.
In 2009, Davis admitted to his role in an interview with Las Vegas police.
Palal said '30 years later, ask you to finally hold Duane Davis accountable.'
Palal showed the 2019 memoir 'Compton Street Legend.'
Defense attorney said Davis wasn't previously charged because law enforcement knew he was 'full of crap.'
Defense pointed to missing documents and distrust between police departments; called detective's work 'biased,' 'sloppy,' 'incomplete.'
No one was charged until Davis was indicted in 2023.
The other three men in the Cadillac have all died.
Retired Las Vegas police officer Garry Dale testified first; he and another officer stopped Knight and Shakur's car for missing license plate, warned them and let them go.
About 10 minutes later they responded to shooting call; Knight had been grazed but told officers to take care of Shakur.
Dale asked Shakur who shot him; Shakur said something like 'no, we'll take care of it.'
Brent Becker, former homicide detective, testified Knight showed up with attorneys, was timid, practiced, and said he knew nothing; Becker thought Knight lied.
Becker said it was difficult to get witnesses; they leaned on Davis, Anderson, Deandrae 'Freaky' Smith, and Terry 'Bubble Up' Brown as men in Cadillac.
Trial expected to last about a month with 35 to 45 witnesses.
Framing: Headline focuses on the fact that Davis told detectives years ago his nephew fired the shots, similar to AP but with a more colloquial tone. — measured — neutral and factual.
Facts Included:
Jurors on Thursday heard Davis tell detectives in 2008 that his nephew Orlando 'Baby Lane' Anderson fired the shots that killed Tupac Shakur.
Davis said he was also in the car with Anderson.
Davis is accused of orchestrating the 1996 killing of the 25-year-old superstar in Las Vegas.
Nephew had been dead for a decade.
Davis described the white Cadillac pulling up alongside Shakur's car with Suge Knight.
Davis said 'If we would have been on my side, I would have blasted.'
He passed his gun to Deandre 'Big Dre' Smith, who didn't want it; Anderson took it and fired.
Jurors watched transcript; some took notes; Davis and attorney whispered; family sat still.
It was the first time Davis directly discussed his involvement with authorities.
Interview is essential evidence.
Prosecutors will lean heavily on Davis's admissions in interviews, podcasts, and the memoir 'Compton Street Legend.'
Davis previously told FBI his nephew was not involved and speculated Knight or Combs were involved.
Davis pleaded not guilty; lawyer called narrative 'fiction' and said Davis was 'full of crap.'
LA detectives brought Davis in to talk about Notorious B.I.G.'s 1997 shooting; Davis was a suspect but discounted.
Detective Daryn Dupree testified 'Everybody was a suspect at that time.'
Detectives told Davis the discussion was confidential; Kading said 'Nothing you say today can be used against you.'
Some in audience shook heads when 'nothing leaves this room.'
Prosecutors say Davis 'go out there and start talking' later, nullifying agreement.
Prosecutors allege motive was revenge for attack on Anderson at MGM Grand after Mike Tyson fight.
Davis was at the fight but not the brawl.
Later they saw Shakur hanging out of black BMW; Davis said after Lane fired, he thought Knight was dead.
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimDuane 'Keffe D' Davis told detectives in 2008 that his nephew Orlando 'Baby Lane' Anderson fired the shots that killed Tupac Shakur.
ClaimDavis said the white Cadillac he and Anderson were riding in with two other men pulled up alongside a car with Shakur inside, along with Marion 'Suge' Knight.
ClaimJurors watched the transcript of the 2008 audio recording as it rolled, some took notes, Davis and his attorney whispered, and Shakur's family sat still.
ClaimDavis previously told the FBI that his nephew was not involved in the 1996 shooting of Shakur, and speculated that Knight or Sean 'Diddy' Combs were involved.
ClaimProsecutors allege Shakur was killed to avenge Shakur's entourage attacking Davis's nephew Orlando Anderson hours earlier at the MGM Grand after a Mike Tyson fight.
ClaimPalal showed jurors video of Shakur's entourage attacking Orlando Anderson outside the boxing match at MGM Grand hours before the shooting on 7 September 1996.
ClaimIn a 2008 interview with a federal task force, Davis described handing a gun to men in a white Cadillac that fired on a black BMW with Shakur and Knight inside.
ClaimThe defense pointed to missing documents in the original investigation and distrust between police departments, calling one detective's work 'biased,' 'sloppy,' and 'incomplete.'
ClaimRetired Las Vegas police officer Garry Dale testified he and another officer stopped Knight and Shakur's car for missing a license plate, warned them and let them go.
ClaimFormer Las Vegas homicide detective Brent Becker testified that Knight showed up to a police interview with attorneys, was timid and practiced in his answers, and said he knew nothing.
ClaimBecker said it was difficult to get other witnesses to talk, and police were leaning on Davis, Anderson, Deandrae 'Freaky' Smith, and Terry 'Bubble Up' Brown as the men in the Cadillac.
ClaimKLAS-TV investigative reporter Vanessa Murphy had multiple jailhouse interviews with Davis since his arrest, including one in which Davis said he wasn't even in Las Vegas the night Tupac was shot.