The US has named the person responsible for the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur

A jury in Las Vegas found 63-year-old Duane "Keffe D" Davis guilty of the 1996 murder of hip-hop star Tupac Shakur (2Pac). Davis had previously been charged with orchestrating the killing of the rapper.

As reported by BAKU.WS citing BBC, Davis, who was found guilty of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Sentencing is scheduled for October 13.

Davis, who maintained his innocence throughout the trial, stated that he plans to appeal the decision.

The investigation did not establish who exactly fired the shots from the gun used to kill the musician. However, under Nevada state law, Davis can be convicted of murder even if he did not fire the gun himself.

The jury deliberated for approximately three hours before reaching their verdict. After the verdict was announced, Shakur's sister Sekyiwa broke down in tears and embraced the prosecutors. Davis's son, who was also present in the courtroom, covered his face with his hand.

Tupac Shakur was shot in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996. He was riding with music mogul Marion "Suge" Knight to Club 662, where he was scheduled to perform. At a traffic light, a white Cadillac pulled up next to the black BMW carrying Shakur and Knight, and four shots were fired from it. The rapper died from his injuries on September 13; Knight survived.

Tupac's murder took place amid a rivalry between two criminal gangs — the South Side Compton Crips and the Mob Piru Bloods. Knight's label Death Row Records, with which Tupac had a contract, was associated with the latter. And one of the leaders of the South Side Compton Crips was Duane "Keffe D" Davis.

Davis was charged with orchestrating Tupac's murder in 2023. This came after Davis published a memoir in which he described certain circumstances of the rapper's killing. Specifically, the book stated that Davis was in the car from which the shots were fired at the rapper, and that it was he who handed the shooter the gun used in the murder.