The family of the late rapper Tupac Shakur has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Los Angeles, seeking unspecified damages tied to the artist’s murder in 1996. The suit names former gang leader Duane “Keefe D” Davis, who is currently awaiting trial for his alleged role in the shooting, as the main defendant, alongside additional unnamed co-conspirators.
Davis is the only person ever charged in connection with Tupac’s death, after years of investigations. He has pleaded not guilty.
The new lawsuit, reported by several US media outlets, alleges there was a “complex conspiracy” to murder the star, and says its aim is to uncover the identity of the “individuals who were involved” through discovery.
Shakur was one of the most prominent rappers of the early 1990s, selling more than 75 million records, including hit singles Hit ‘Em Up and California Love.
He also had a burgeoning acting career, with roles in Juice, Above The Rim and Poetic Justice.
But his career came to an abrupt halt when he was shot four times in a drive-by attack in Las Vegas in September 1996. He died in hospital six days later, at the age of 25. Mr Davis was charged with murder in September 2023. Police alleged he planned the shooting with his nephew, following an altercation with Shakur in a casino.
In court, prosecutor Marc DiaGiacomo described Mr Davis – a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips street gang – as the “on-ground, on-site commander” who “ordered the death” of Shakur.
Police said that Mr Davis got the gun from an unnamed associate, and mentioned Mr Davis’s “own admissions” to media outlets that he was in the vehicle from which the shots were fired. They did not state who fired the weapon.
The three men who were in the car with Mr Davis at the time of the shooting, including his nephew, have all since died.
Mr Davis has pleaded not guilty to the charges. After several delays, his trial is due to commence in August.
‘The truth remains elusive’
The wrongful death case – which is separate to that trial – was filed on Tuesday by Tupac’s brother Maurice Shakur, acting as the administrator of the estate for his late father (and Tupac’s stepfather), Mutulu Shakur.
“Nearly 30 years after Tupac’s death, in 2023, the first – and only – arrest was made,” the documents state.
“Related grand jury transcripts and a subsequent Netflix documentary have since revealed the existence of a broader, more complex conspiracy to murder Tupac that involved much more than mere retaliation for a prior altercation.”
The documents express hope that new evidence will finally allow the family to identify and name the “individuals who may have participated in planning, financing, directing, or carrying out the conspiracy” to murder Tupac.
These new sources of information include grand jury transcripts from Davis’ criminal proceedings and interviews from the Netflix documentary Sean Combs: The Reckoning, according to the complaint.
The documentary, released last November, included tapes of a police interview in which Mr Davis claims that Combs offered him $1m (£769,000) to murder Shakur.
Combs has repeatedly denied involvement in the rapper’s shooting; and called the Netflix documentary “a shameful hit piece”.
The BBC has contacted Combs’ lawyers and Mr Davis’s representatives for a response to the new lawsuit.
By BBC News
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