A suspect has been charged with the 1996 murder of rap legend Tupac Shakur, which has never been solved and continues to intrigue music fans, a prosecutor announced Friday before a Las Vegas judge.
• Read also: The home was searched in connection with the investigation into the murder of Tupac Shakur
The man arrested is Duane “Kevy D” Davis, a former gang member who has long admitted that he was in the car from which the shots were fired that killed the American rapper. But he confirmed in a book published in 2019 that the shots were fired from the back of the vehicle while he was in front.
Prosecutor Mark DiGiacomo explained that according to new elements in the investigation, which received a surprise boost this summer, there is a “strong presumption” that Mr. Davis is “responsible for the murder of Tupac Shakur.”
After nearly thirty years of mystery, the case resurfaced in July, with the search of a Las Vegas home linked to Duane Davis. Police in Nevada City are scheduled to hold a press conference at 12:30 p.m. to provide more details.
Hip-hop legend Tupac became a staple artist on the American West Coast after a career as short as it was impressive, before he was shot dead in September 1996 in Las Vegas, in circumstances that remain unclear. He was 25 years old.
The rapper, who was behind the hits “California,” “Changes,” “Dear Mama” and “All Eyez On Me,” has sold 75 million albums.
Tupac became a key figure in the famous rivalry between the West Coast and East Coast rap scenes of the United States.
Although a New York native, he embodied “West Coast” hip-hop after moving to California as a teenager with his family.
His murder was followed, six months later, by the murder of his East Coast rival, Christopher “The Notorious Big” Wallace.
Many link their deaths to the rivalry between their labels Death Row (based in Los Angeles) and Bad Boy Entertainment (New York), but music historians say this opposition was exaggerated for commercial reasons.
