Rap icon Tupac Shakur's 1996 murder trial set to begin 30 years after death

The only man who has been charged in connection with Tupac Shakur's death is now set to go on trial three decades on.

In 2023, Duane “Keffe D” Davis was charged with murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang, and now, after three years, is set to go to trial.

He has pleaded not guilty and denies any charges against him.

Jury selection for the trial will begin today (August 10) and is expected to last until the end of the week. The trial, which will take place in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, is scheduled to last around a month.

However, the trial is not likely to answer the three-decade-long question of who shot the 'California Love' rapper, as prosecutors are arguing that Duane “Keffe D” Davis provided the firearm and also the calls ordering the death of the star.

The trial will be streamed live, and there will be limited seats for the public to sit in.

Around 35-45 witnesses are set to testify, including Leonard Jefferson who took the last known photograph of the rapper as he pulled up to next to his BMW.

Duane Davis is charged in connection with the murder (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

When did Tupac Shakur die?

Tupac Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in 1996. At the time, he was just 25 years old at the time, and passed away due to gunshot wounds on September 13, 1996, six days after he was shot.

On the day of the shooting, 7 September 1996, Tupac was in a BMW in Las Vegas with Marion "Suge" Knight, who was the founder of the record label Death Row Records.

They had been in Vegas to watch Mike Tyson fight at the MGM, and were later on the way to a nightclub.

Suge, who was in the driver's seat, was also shot, but suffered minor injuries.

Tupac was fatally shot in 1996 (Photo by Bob Berg/Getty Images)

Duane “Keffe D” Davis wrote about the murder in his book Compton Street Legend

The prosecution's case is largely built on Davis' words from his book and interviews.

He co-authored Compton Street Legend in 2019, in which he said he obtained a handgun from an associate and jumped in a Cadillac with three others, although it does not say who took the fatal shots.

“No words exchanged, the time for talking had passed,” the book reads.

In a filing, prosecutors wrote: "In this case, almost all of the evidence the state will seek to introduce, will be to establish the credibility of Defendant's various accounts of his role in the killing of Tupac Shakur."

The defence argues the book is fictionalized, and also claim it's unclear which sections Davis wrote.

In 2023, 27 years after the fatal shooting, when Davis was charged, Tupac's step-brother Mopreme Shakur said: "We have been through decades of pain. They have known about this guy, who been running his mouth, for years.

"So why now? For us, this is not over. We want to know why, and if there were any accomplices.

"We're in a constant state of grief and remorse and pain because we have to relive it and relive what happened and think about, you know, is just as difficult."