Almost 30 years ago a hit was taken out on legendary rapper Tupac Shakur.
On September 7, 1996, Tupac, birth name Lesane Parish Crooks, was fatally shot four times in the chest while waiting at a red light in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Six days later he died in hospital.
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The case went cold, almost completely frozen over, until 27 years later - in September last year, Duane 'Keefe D' Davis was arrested and subsequently charged with the first degree murder of Tupac.
Davis has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is set to begin on November 4.
But 14 years prior to his arrest, he alleged Sean 'Diddy' Combs offered him $1 million to kill Tupac.
And it is something the late 25-year-old's family is now looking into and have hired a new lawyers to investigate these wild claims.
Sources told TMZ that Tupac's family had retained lawyers Alex Spiro and Christopher Clore, along with a team of investigators, to look into the claims Diddy offered Davis money to kill Tupac.
In a 2009 transcript, Davis is being interviewed by homicide detective Dan Long, who asks him: "Puffy Combs. Does he play a role in this thing?”
Replying, Davis said: “Yeah, I think he did. That’s what we think. That’s word on the street."
In 2008, Davis was even more direct and told investigators Combs said he 'needed to get rid of [Suge] Knight and Shakur' and offered Davis $1 million to 'handle the problem', according to a DEA and U.S. Department of Justice report.
Court documents that have been filed by the prosecuting representatives, Diddy is alleged to have had a conversation with Davis.
It read: “Sean Combs reached out to defendant [Davis] wondering if South Side Crips were responsible for Shakur’s death. Defendant, beaming with pride, answers, ‘Yes.’"
Tupac was allegedly affiliated with the 'Bloods', while it is claimed that Diddy was affiliated with the 'Crips'.
However, Diddy has refuted all claims that he had any involvement in the death of Tupac, and has never been charged with any connection during the murder probe.
Just last week, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told People that he 'has never been considered a suspect in the Tupac Shakur homicide investigation'.
Back in 2023, social media users noted Diddy had an awkward response when asked about Tupac's death.
The rapper, 54, was on Breakfast Club Power when he faced the uncomfortable question. You can watch the tense moment below:
During last year's Breakfast Club interview, Diddy was questioned about Tupac's death.
The musician told interviewers that he appreciated they were doing their job in asking, asserting: "We don't talk about things that are nonsense, we don't entertain nonsense, with all due respect, but I appreciate you as a journalist asking, thank you."
Meanwhile, speaking of claims that he had anything to do with Tupac's murder, he told LA Weekly back in 2011: “This story is pure fiction and completely ridiculous.”
Topics: Tupac Shakur, Las Vegas, Police
Joe Yates