The Tupac Shakur murder trial opens with multiple interviews of suspect Duane “Keffe D” Davis admitting involvement, but the defense claims their client is a liar.
Opening statements officially started in what is hip-hop’s biggest unsolved murder case on Monday (Aug. 17). During opening statements, prosecutor Binu Palal told the jury that they would learn about Keffe D’s guilt from evidence and his own admission. Palal played multiple interviews that Keffe D conducted with investigators and media outlets where he admits to being present and passing the gun to the person who shot and killed Tupac during a drive-by near the Las Vegas Strip in September of 1996.
Keffe D’s attorney, Michael Sanft, countered that Keffe D is a liar and had nothing to do with the rap icon’s murder. Michael Sanft presented a slide that had the word “bullsh*t” on it and said that “Keffe was known to do this.”
He argued that in the 27 years after Tupac’s murder, Keffe D “was never charged for any of what he said during that time period, and it’s because they knew he was full of crap,” Mr. Sanft said. “Otherwise they would’ve.”
Sanft urged jurors to look at the facts and insisted prosecutors can’t even prove Keffe D was in Las Vegas on the night of the murder.
Investigators say Keffe D provided the firearm used to shoot and kill the famous rapper. The shooting was retaliation for Keffe D’s nephew, Orlando Anderson, being jumped by Tupac and members of Death Row Records at the MGM Grand Casino hours before the shooting.
The jury also heard from eyewitness Ingrid Stokes and former Las Vegas Police officer Garry Dale, who pulled over Suge Knight and Tupac prior to the shooting for not having a license plate.
Keffe D, 63, faces one count of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang in Tupac’s death. The trial is expected to last up to six weeks. He is facing life in prison if found guilty.
Check out the opening statements from the trial below.
Watch Opening Statements of the Tupac Shakur Murder Trial
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