One of the most high-profile unsolved murders in the history of the American music industry has received a judicial resolution after three decades. Jurors in Las Vegas found former gang member Duane "Keefe D" Davis guilty of orchestrating the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, known as 2Pac. The prosecution does not claim that Davis himself shot the musician.
Tupac Shakur was shot in Las Vegas in September 1996. The 25-year-old rapper was in a car with record label head Suge Knight after attending a boxing match. Six days after the attack, Shakur died, CNN reports.
The murder of one of hip-hop's biggest stars remained unsolved for decades.
Jurors Took Three Hours
63-year-old Duane Davis was charged with first-degree murder with a firearm and intent to further the activities of a criminal gang.
The jurors did not conclude that Davis personally shot Tupac. However, they found it proven that he organized and planned the murder.
It took the jurors about three hours to reach a verdict.
Personal Accounts Became an Important Part of the Case
The investigation gained new momentum after Davis began publicly recounting the events of 1996. In interviews and memoirs, he spoke about his role in the South Side Compton Crips gang and detailed the circumstances leading up to the murder.
According to Davis, the motive for the attack was a fight between his nephew and Tupac.
In his book, he described how he obtained a weapon and, along with other men, set out in a Cadillac to find the rapper and Suge Knight. Investigators had known since 1996 that shots were fired at Shakur's car from a Cadillac.
Davis also wrote that he received the weapon from an acquaintance and passed it to the back seat of the car. However, he did not name the person who actually fired the shots.
The three other men in the car who could have been the shooters have since died.
Defense Claimed the Book Was a Work of Fiction
During the trial, nearly 30 people were questioned, including Suge Knight, who is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter.
The prosecution insisted that Davis's accounts in his memoirs were essentially confessions.
Duane Davis.
The defense took the opposite stance. The attorneys argued that the author intentionally embellished the story of Tupac's murder to make the book more sensational and increase sales. They also pointed out the lack of what they considered other evidence supporting this version of events.
The jurors were not convinced by these arguments.
Tupac's relatives emotionally reacted to the announcement of the verdict. Davis has already stated his intention to appeal the court's decision. Leaving the courtroom, he raised his clenched fist.
Davis's sentence is set to be announced on October 13. He faces life in prison.
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