Tupac Shakur Murder Verdict: “Keffe D” Convicted in 1996 Killing

Duane “Keffe D” Davis sits beside attorney Michael Sanft in a courtroom.

A Las Vegas jury has convicted Duane “Keffe D” Davis of first-degree murder in the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur, delivering the first criminal verdict in a case that remained unresolved for nearly three decades. The Tupac Shakur murder verdict was returned Monday, August 31, after jurors deliberated for less than three hours.

Davis, 63, was found guilty of a single count of murder with a deadly weapon. Prosecutors did not argue that he fired the shots. Their case was that Davis obtained the gun and orchestrated the retaliation that ended with a white Cadillac pulling alongside the BMW carrying Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight on September 7, 1996.

Shakur was struck multiple times near the Las Vegas Strip and died six days later at age 25. Knight was wounded and survived. The killing became one of hip-hop’s most persistent mysteries, generating years of speculation, books, documentaries and conflicting public accounts before Davis was arrested in 2023.

At trial, prosecutors relied in part on Davis’s own statements placing himself inside the Cadillac. The defense challenged whether those statements were reliable and argued that the state had not proved he directed the shooting. Davis did not testify. The jury heard 24 prosecution witnesses and three defense witnesses across nine days of testimony.

The verdict changes the legal status of the story. Earlier reporting properly described Davis as accused and his role as alleged; a jury has now found him guilty. That distinction matters in coverage of any criminal case, especially one carrying the emotional and cultural weight of Shakur’s death.

Davis could receive a life sentence. Sentencing is scheduled for October, according to The Associated Press. Shakur’s family members embraced prosecutors after the verdict but said they would wait until sentencing before speaking publicly about what the decision means to them.

PowerPage previously covered testimony about Davis’s alleged authority in the vehicle. Monday’s conviction now brings legal resolution to the case while leaving Shakur’s music, influence and unfinished future at the center of hip-hop’s memory.