Tupac Shakur’s family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Los Angeles seeking damages and information about alleged co-conspirators in his murder.
The family of Tupac Shakur has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Los Angeles over the rapper’s 1996 murder, seeking unspecified damages and new information about people it alleges may have been involved in the killing.
The civil case names former gang leader Duane “Keefe D” Davis as the main defendant, along with additional unnamed co-conspirators. Davis, the only person ever charged in connection with Shakur’s death, has pleaded not guilty in a separate criminal case and is awaiting trial.
The lawsuit alleges a “complex conspiracy” to murder Shakur and says one aim of the case is to use discovery to identify the “individuals who were involved.” It was filed Tuesday by Tupac’s brother Maurice Shakur, acting as administrator of the estate of Mutulu Shakur, Tupac’s stepfather.
Shakur was among the defining rappers of the early 1990s, selling more than 75 million records and releasing songs including “California Love” and “Hit ’Em Up.” He also appeared in films including “Juice,” “Above the Rim” and “Poetic Justice.” He was shot four times in a drive-by attack in Las Vegas in September 1996 and died in a hospital six days later. He was 25.
Davis was charged with murder in September 2023 after years of investigation. Police alleged he helped plan the shooting with his nephew after an altercation involving Shakur at a casino. In court, prosecutor Marc DiaGiacomo described Davis as the “on-ground, on-site commander” who “ordered the death” of Shakur.
Police have said Davis obtained the gun from an unnamed associate and cited his “own admissions” to media outlets that he was in the vehicle from which the shots were fired. Authorities have not said who fired the weapon. The three other men who were in the car with Davis at the time of the shooting, including his nephew, have all since died.
The complaint points to grand jury transcripts from Davis’ criminal proceedings and interviews from the Netflix documentary “Sean Combs: The Reckoning” as sources the family says may help identify others who allegedly participated in planning, financing, directing or carrying out the killing.
The documentary included tapes of a police interview in which Davis claimed Sean Combs offered him $1 million to murder Shakur. Combs has repeatedly denied involvement in the shooting and called the documentary “a shameful hit piece.” The BBC reported that it contacted Combs’ lawyers and Davis’ representatives for comment on the lawsuit. Davis’ criminal trial is due to begin in August after several delays.
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