Keefe D told investigators that Sean “Diddy” Combs offered $1 million to have Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight killed, according to a newly surfaced Drug Enforcement Administration report tied to his upcoming murder trial.
The allegation, originally made in confidential police interviews from 2008 and 2009, resurfaced in a 2025 DEA document obtained by USA Today and is now part of the legal proceedings against Keefe D, whose real name is Duane Keith Davis.
The report states Keefe D claimed Diddy said something like, “He would give anything for those dudes’ heads,” referring to Tupac and Suge, and offered a $1 million bounty to make it happen.
The fatal shooting happened just hours after a violent brawl involving Tupac, Suge and rival gang members at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas following a Mike Tyson fight in September 1996.
Tupac died six days later from multiple gunshot wounds. Suge survived with a head injury.
Diddy has never been charged or named a suspect by Las Vegas police and has consistently denied any role in Tupac’s death. His legal team has dismissed the allegations as baseless.
Still, the claims have reignited interest in the long-unsolved case. Tupac’s family has hired a New York-based attorney to explore potential connections between Diddy and the murder, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Diddy’s Former Body Guard Urges Authorities To Trace $1M Check Tied To Tupac Shakur’s Murder
In April, Diddy’s former bodyguard Gene Deal urged federal agents to follow the money trail. He believes a $1 million check could tie Diddy to the murder-for-hire plot.
Deal alleged the funds may have been routed through Eric “Von Zip” Martin, a known associate of Keefe D, who has long been suspected of acting as a middleman in the alleged scheme.
“If they follow the money and the lawsuits, they’ll find the truth,” Deal said, pointing to legal filings by former Bad Boy Records president Kirk Burrowes, who also accused Diddy of harboring deep resentment toward Tupac.
In previously unreleased audio from 2008, which surfaced in August 2024 through the Murder Rap documentary, Keefe D said he spent years trying to collect the $1 million from Diddy.
He claimed he initially sent Von Zip to retrieve the money, but Martin allegedly disappeared with it. “He kept the money,” Keefe D said, explaining that the betrayal ultimately led him to speak out.
Keefe D, the only person charged in connection with Tupac’s murder, is scheduled to stand trial in Las Vegas in February 2026.
He has pleaded not guilty and insists he wasn’t in the city the night of the shooting. His defense argues that some of his past statements were made under immunity and should not be used against him.
Related