Recommendations of the Editorial team
This September will mark the 30th anniversary of Tupac Shakur’s violent death in Las Vegas – and what really happened back then is still not fully understood. More than two decades after the crime, Duane “Keefe D” Davis was finally arrested for the murder in 2023 and is now awaiting trial. To shed more light on the matter, lawyers for Maurice Shakur, Tupac’s stepbrother, have filed a civil wrongful death lawsuit in Los Angeles. It alleges a “complex conspiracy to assassinate Tupac” that “went far beyond mere retaliation for a previous dispute.”
“Many of those involved have long since died, others were difficult to identify,” says the lawsuit, which is available to ROLLING STONE. “But one thing is certain: There are still people who were involved in Tupac’s murder and have not been held accountable for their actions in 30 years. This lawsuit aims to change that and seek compensation for Tupac’s wrongful death.”
The lawsuit relies on recent grand jury testimony related to Davis’ arrest, as well as the Netflix documentary “Sean Combs: The Reckoning,” which features a police interview recording in which Davis appears to claim that Combs offered him $1 million to kill Tupac. Combs has vehemently denied this accusation, calling the Netflix production a “shameful attack.”
99 unknown co-conspirators
The complaint names 99 co-conspirators, who are still unknown by name, about whom information is to be collected as part of the evidence collection process. “While the investigation and public records have revealed the names of specific individuals who may have participated in or facilitated the murder,” the lawsuit says, “the exact nature and extent of each individual’s involvement – as well as the identities of additional individuals who may have been involved in planning, financing, directing or executing the conspiracy – remain unknown.”
This civil lawsuit is completely separate from the criminal case against Davis, who is currently incarcerated at High Desert State Prison in Nevada, convicted of fighting behind bars. His criminal trial is scheduled to begin on August 10, 2026.
Prosecutors believe Davis was in the white Cadillac that drove next to Shakur’s car near the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, 1996, hitting him four times. Davis has pleaded not guilty.
Davis’ own words
However, in his own memoir, Compton Street Legend, Davis boasted about his role in the crime. “Tupac made an erratic movement and reached under his seat,” Davis wrote, describing the moment his car pulled alongside the rapper’s. “It was the first and only time in my life that I could understand the police command: ‘Put your hands where I can see them.’ Instead, Pac pulled out a gun and then the lights came on. One of my guys in the backseat grabbed the Glock and started shooting back.”