Tupac Shakur Murder: Sister Speaks Out About Hip-Hop Legend’s Death

After all this time, will someone. finally face justice for the killing. [music] of music icon Tupac Shakur? >> When a life is big as Tupac was, [music]. I mean, the weight of his life has is. taken in senseless senseless violence at. such a young age. There isn't really a. replacement. >> Right now, attorneys are going. headtohead in a Las Vegas [music]. courtroom where Dwayne Kefei D. Davis. stands trial for allegedly orchestrating.

this infamous crime. But before we talk. about the [music] opening statements and. day one of the trial, we need to go back. to the life and legacy of Tupac Shakur. >> I think what the universal we will never. know who he could have been if he lived. more than 25 years. [music] The 25 years. that he did live. I think we all do know. who he is. Only law and crime sat down. with his sister Setua Shakur set to find. out who he really was and what she wants. the world to remember. Welcome to.

Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm. Jesse Weber. The night was [music] September 7th, 1996, Las Vegas, Nevada. Mike Tyson had. just knocked out Bruce Seldon in the. first round at the MGM Grand. The strip. was packed. The biggest fight of the. year was over. But something else was. just beginning. Somewhere on the streets. of Las Vegas, a white Cadillac was. closing in. >> Uh I got in the car with homies. Yeah.

And we uh ran into them. Went up to the. light on sunset and flamingo. >> The car drove up alongside a black BMW. carrying Tupac Shakur, one of the. biggest stars in the world. >> We got. We was the first one. Yeah, >> luckiest one, I guess. Hit that corner, gave a little chase. Boom, boom, boom. >> At least 12 shots were fired. Four hit.

Tupac Shakur. And 6 days later, on. September 13th, 1996, Tupac Shakur was pronounced dead. He was. 25 years old. And for nearly three. decades, the question that has haunted. hip hop, that has haunted America, that. has haunted a family has been, who. killed Tupac? Tupac was a brother. He. was a son. He was an artist who changed. the rap industry at the time. He is. somebody who is still talked about so.

much today. We sat down with one person. who knew him probably better than anyone. else, his sister Setua Shakur set, and. she gave us the most personal look at. the man behind the icon. >> I think what the universal we will never. know who he. could have been if he lived more than 25. years. The 25 years that he did live. I.

think we all do know who he is. If you. ever laughed with him, if you've ever. seen him smile, it's a gift and it touched your life. He. was truly in my eyes our shining prince. >> This is the story of Tupac Shakur and. what his sister wants the world to. remember as this trial finally begins. So, Tupac was born Lee Parish Crooks on. June 16th, 1971 in Harlem, New York. But. his mother Afeni Shakur ended up.

changing his name. She renamed him Tupac. Amaru Shakur. This is after an Inca. revolutionary who led a rebellion. against Spanish rule in the 1700s. Aphini Shakur was a member of the Black. Panthers, deeply involved in the. movement's fight for justice and. equality. And when she was pregnant with. Tupac, she was actually awaiting trial. as part of the Panther 21. This group of. Black Panthers accused of conspiring to. bomb police stations and other public. places. She represented herself in.

court, by the way, and was acquitted. Tupac's father, Billy Garland, was also. a Black Panther, though he was largely. absent from Tupac's childhood. There was. a man named Mutulu Shakort, born Gerald. Wayne Williams, stepfather of Tupac, reportedly considered his father. And as. a prominent black liberation activist. and leader in the Black Liberation Army, he spent years on the FBI's 10 most. wanted fugitives list before serving. over 35 years in federal prison. And it. was that history that also shaped the.

way that Set viewed the criminal justice. system, especially when it came to her. brother's murder. >> Unfortunately, our family, because of the history of. America and our family's history here, um. have no expectations or low expectations. of the criminal system. ever. We've never had any expectations. for the criminal system to.

hunt down someone for my brother's. murder. Um, just black boys, black young. black boys and um, their lives or their. deaths tend to be swept under the rug. um, in America often. So, we didn't have. high expectations in the beginning. >> Now, growing up, Tupac moved around a. lot. Harlem, the Bronx, Baltimore, then. eventually to Marin City, California, and later Oakland. His family struggled. financially. There were times they lived. in homeless shelters. But there was also.

art. His mother wrote poems, encouraged. him to write. He attended the Baltimore. School for the Arts where he studied. acting and poetry and ballet. Even as a. teenager, there was a magnetism to him. His close friend from that time, Jada. Pinket Smith, once said she knew he was. special from the moment that she met. him. He was even reportedly reading. Makaveli. His sister tells us it was his. ability to make people feel seen and to. put their own experiences into words.

that really made Tupac stand out. >> I personally believe that my brother was. zeitgeist for our generation. I believe. that he was a actual human being that. lived actual human experiences and the. experiences that he lived he had actual. feelings about and actual emotions about. and he shared them with the world and. his experience wasn't that different. [snorts] um from the average human being.

um experience. Everybody's experienced. pain and sorrow and trauma and loss and. joy and um the love of a woman or the. anger of a enemy or um the care for the. community. Um, and because he spoke to. such h basic human emotions and. instances, I believe his message and his. care, I'm going to use the word care.

will always be. >> [snorts]. >> um, relevant. Um I always compare him to. any of the prophets that any of the. religions want to you know use as an. example of a good human being a whole a. to a a total human being. That's who he. was. So I think all human beings will. always connect and be able to understand. his intentions. By the time he was in. his late teens, Tupac Shakur had. experienced poverty, instability, living.

in a community that was affected by. violence. But he also had this. incredible gift for articulating. what people felt but couldn't put into. words. Now, Tupac's career launched in. the early 1990s. first as a backup. dancer and a rapper with Digital. Underground and then as a solo artist. His debut album, To Apocalypse, now. dropped in 1991. And it was clear from the start that.

this was something different. It wasn't. just party music. And honestly, it was. raw, political, angry, and painfully. honest. Songs like Brenda's Got a Baby. tackled teen pregnancy and poverty. Trapped was about police brutality. The. album caught the attention of the. administration at the time. And. honestly, not in a good way. He had Vice. President Dan Quell publicly criticizing. it, saying it had quote, "no place in. our society." But that didn't stop.

Tupac. His second album, Strictly For My. Nwords, went platinum. Gave him his. first major hit, I get Around, which. peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot. 100 charts. From there, he then signed. with Death Row Records in 1995, released. All Eyes on Me. This was a double album. that is widely regarded in the hip-hop. world. It's one of the most well-known. It featured songs like California Love, How Do You Want It? But for all the.

success, there was tension. He was a man. of contradictions. Someone who signed to. a label run by Suge Knight, a man with. reportedly deep ties to gang culture. He. spoke about love and community and the. same breath as violence and revenge. And. for his family, it was this complicated. image that is part of what made him. special. when a life like my brother, my. mother's son,

the artist, the. philosopher, the actor, the cousin, the loved one. when no life is big as Tupac was. I. mean, the weight of his life has is. taken in sense senseless violence. at such a young age. There isn't really. a replacement. There isn't really like a. eye for an eye or get back or one day.

we're going to feel better or it's going. to be okay because he's gone. I. >> It's remarkable to see someone as. beloved as him. It's remarkable to see. someone who has this lasting legacy all. this time after for people who even. weren't born, who didn't even know, who. weren't around when Tupac uh was around. Oh, and by the way, let me just say. we're kind of limited here on sidebar in. how much we can show you, you know, every page of every document or every. minute of an opening statement or. closing argument. So, we developed the. Long Crime Plus case files. You go on.

the Long Crime Plus app under the case. files section, we have all of the big. cases that we're covering, including. Tupac. And this is essentially opening. up the evidence vault so you can. inspect, let's say, raw body cam footage. or 911 calls or crime scene photos and. full trial tapes all firsthand. You get. adfree streaming of all your favorite. Long Crime and Court TV shows, too. So, see the full picture for an entire month. free. Head on over to longrimeplus.com. Enter promo code sidebar. Start. exploring today. Okay, let's jump back.

into this. As Tupac's fame grew, so did. the controversies. You had the East. Coast, West Coast rivalry increasingly. dominating hip hop, the media. Tupac. found himself at the center of it. He. had apparently this falling out with. notorious B.I. once a close friend. There were diss tracks. There were. alleged public threats. There was a lot. of noise at that time. But this is where. things got complicated for a lot of. people. There was some media coverage.

reduced Tupac to just another alleged. gangster rapper. Dangerous, violent, what some labeled as a product of the. streets that he wrapped about. But. others would argue he was really a young. man navigating fame and violence and. poverty. And then there was his acting. So Tupac was in a number of films. Juice, Poetic Justice, Above the Rim, Gridlock. And by 1996, Tupac Shakur was. arguably the most famous rapper in the. entire world. All Eyes on Me had gone. quintuple platinum. He was everywhere. Magazine covers, movies, MTV, and the.

news. But the spotlight was getting. hotter. The East Coast, West Coast. rivalry had shifted into something much. darker. Tupac ended up getting wrapped. up in it. His feud with notorious B.I. became a defining conflict in hip hop. And if you remember, Tupac had been shot. before 1994. He was robbed and shot five. times in the lobby of a New York. recording studio. He survived, but that. experience reportedly changed him. And. then came that fateful night, September.

7th, 1996. So Tupac Shakur was in Las Vegas with. Suge Knight attending the Mike Tyson. fight at the MGM Grand. And according to. police, this is what ultimately went. down that night. >> Members of the Southside Compton Crips, which included Dwayne Davis along with. his nephew, Orlando Anderson, were also. in attendance at the same event. As both. were leaving the fight, members of Death. Row Records spotted Orlando Anderson. near an elevator bay bank inside the.

MGM. And at that time, they began to. kick and punch him near that elevator. bank. I will now show you hotel security. footage as many of you have already seen. related to this incident. And on this. incident, you will see Tupac Shakur, who's wearing his a shiny satiny shirt. along with Marian Sugn Knight, who is a. large man in a brown suit, punching and. kicking Orlando Anderson.

Following this incident, you'll see. hotel security intervene. and then they will leave the area of the. fight. Little did anyone know that it is this. incident right here that would. ultimately lead. to the retalatory shooting and death of. Tupac Shakur. What happened next is well. documented. Anderson's uncle, Dwayne.

Kefi D. Davis, was apparently also at. the MGM that night, even though he now. seems to dispute that he was in Las. Vegas. According to prosecutors, Davis. devised a plan to retaliate, allegedly. obtained a gun, got into a white. Cadillac with Anderson and two other. men, and went looking for Tupac and. Suge. Around 11:15 p.m., the Cadillac. pulled alongside Tupac's BMW. This was. at the intersection of Flamingo Road and. Koval Lane. At least 12 shots were.

fired. Tupac was hit four times. Twice. in the chest, once in the arm, and on. the thigh. One of those bullets pierced. his lung. Now, Suge was apparently. grazed by shrapnel, but survived this. Tupac was rushed to the University. Medical Center in Las Vegas. He. underwent surgery. He was placed in a. medically induced coma. And for 6 days, the world waited. And by September 13th. at 4:03 p.m., Tupac Shakur was.

pronounced dead, 25 years old. And for. his family, this loss brought something. else. It brought forth another painful. realization. Maybe they would never find out who. killed Tupac. >> When Tupac died, it was September of 96. I had just I was about to turn 21. And I. turned 21 in October. And later that.

month, just one month after his passing, his murder was on Unsolved Mysteries, which means to me and which told me as a. young woman that the case was wrapped. and already, you know, already deemed. unsolvable. And that was just one month. after his passing. >> For years after Tupac's death, this case. seemed frozen in time. Investigators. eventually identified four men as the. occupants of that white Cadillac. Allegedly Orlando Anderson, Terrence.

Brown, DeAndre Smith, and Dwayne Kei D. Davis. But there wasn't enough to bring. charges. And one by one, the other men. in that car died. Anderson was killed in. a gang-related shooting in 1998. Smith. died in 2004 of natural causes. Brown. was killed in a shooting in 2015. So. that left just one person still alive. who allegedly had been in that Cadillac. Dwayne Kei Davis and Kei D started.

talking 2008 sat down with law. enforcement including a task force that. was investigating Tupac's murder. And in. that interview, according to. investigators, he described his role in. the shooting. How he obtained the gun, how he was in the car, how he passed the. weapon to the back seat. But the. interview was part of what's called a. profer agreement. So essentially a deal. where someone shares information in. exchange for immunity or at the very. least the understanding that those. statements won't be used against them.

Then you go to 2019. Davis published his. memoir. It's called Compton Street. Legend. Gave interviews promoting the. book and he described the night of the. shooting in vivid detail. He talked. about being in the car, about the gun, about the chase. >> Uh I got in the car with homes. Yeah. and we uh ran into them. We went up to. the light on sunset and flamingo. and uh dude uh acting like he was in a. parade or something that and that BMW.

hanging out the window. Hey, this Dup. and them uh they was holling for him and. we like there go. came up on the side of him. So let's let's talk about that. So, so you guys went to the liquor store and. then I think you said in the book Big. Meech was with you like in the. >> No, that was that was a misprint. >> Oh, it was a misprint. Yeah. Okay. So,

um so you was in the van, you guys went. to the liquor store to get some bottles. and stuff and then you was in the van, but then you hopped in with Baby Lane in. in their car. >> Yeah. >> Okay. And then so y'all get in and then. you guys are heading back to the. carriage house was it? >> Yeah. We was heading back to our room. Yeah. >> To to the rooms and then you see this. entourage or caravan of everybody. >> Yeah. Yeah. And it was it was the dude. was. >> Yeah. He was hanging out the window and.

we just came up on the gutter lane. They. was like 13 [snorts] cars. All of them. was black too. >> I guess she still got a thing for black. cars that night. So we went to Roso. and we seen him and out there she wrote. >> and and I I I read in the book he said. that it looked like you you guys rolled. up and Pac reach. >> like you was reaching. Yeah. It look. like he's ready to bust our and she like. we got.

we was the first ones. >> Yeah. >> Luckiest one I guess. Hit that corner. Gave a little chase. Boom boom boom. Got. the busing. We bust back and jumped up. off that I like put it put the gun on. his tire got the on. >> Now here's the deal. In Nevada under the. law you can be charged with murder even. if you didn't pull the trigger. Essentially aiding in abetting is enough. if you help plan or facilitate the crime. in some way. And Davis had allegedly. previously said he was in the car that.

he was part of the plan. Well, under. Nevada law, and this is the law in most. states in this country, um you can be. charged with a crime whether you're. directly involved or whether you're an. aeret. We have an aiding and abetting. statute which provides that if you help. somebody commit a crime, you can be. equally as guilty. >> So, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police. Department worked to build their case. And it was on September 29th, 2023, over. two decades after Tupac Shakur was.

killed, that Las Vegas police finally. made an arrest. >> 27 years, 27 years. For 27 years, the family of. Tupac Shakur has been waiting for. justice. We are here today to announce. the arrest of 60-year-old Dwayne Keith. Davis aka Kei D for the murder of Tupac. Shakur. Dwayne Kefei Davis was charged.

with murder with a deadly weapon with. the intent to promote, further, or. assist a criminal gang. This arrest made. headlines around the world because. finally there was a break in one of the. most famous unsolved cases in American. history. So what they got you for, man? >> Uh, oh man. Biggest case in uh Las Vegas history. >> Oh yeah. >> Yeah. >> Like recent. >> September the 7th, 1996.

>> Oh, no. Wow. That's a long time. That's a long time. away. >> You know what I'm talking about. >> Hm. >> You know what I'm talking about. Yeah. Not a detective quite yet, but yeah. That's a long time away, man. What was. that? >> 20ome years. No, more than that. >> Yeah. >> Should have took him a while, huh?

>> I ain't worried about I can't. >> So, the trial of Dwayne KVD Davis is. getting underway. And after years of. legal maneuvering and motions to. suppress evidence and questions about. whether Davis's own words could be used. against him, there is a jury that has. been seated. Six men, 10 women, four of. them alternates. They're going to decide. the fate of the only person ever charged. in Tupac Shakur's murder. Now, Davis has. pleaded not guilty. He is innocent. unless proven guilty. His defense has.

argued that his memoir was. fictionalized, that he didn't pull the. trigger, that he believed his earlier. statements to law enforcement were. protected, that anything that he said. was just exaggerated or fabricated to. sell a book. But the judge has seemingly. ruled that Davis adopted the book's. contents as his own, that his public. admissions can be used against him. The. defendant's omission arguments do not. establish a showing of intentional or. reckless misconduct required under. Franks versus Delaware. They also don't.

show that the inclusion of the omitted. facts would have defeated the good cause. finding. The warrant was executed. pursuant to judicial authorization. There's no showing of bad faith and such. suppression is not warranted here. The. motion is denied. State to prepare the. order. >> We believe the prosecution is expected. to call between 35 and 45 witnesses. Law. enforcement, gang experts, potentially. members of Tupac's own family. Suge. Knight is also on the witness list, although he has said he does not want to. testify. He told ABC News last week that. getting on the witness stand is quote. worse than taking a gun and shooting.

that man in the head. He said he. wouldn't be responsible for sending. another man to prison for the rest of. his life. But Davis, yeah, he faces life. in prison without parole if he's. convicted. And I will tell you, in a. strategic move, he waved his right to. have the jury decide his sentence. Yeah. If he's found guilty, it will be the. judge that decides his punishment. >> If it's a first-degree murder, that has. to be an equal and consecutive 20 uh to. life sentence or life without the. possibility well 20 to 50 sentence, 20.

to life or life without the possibility. of parole. So, that would be up to the. judge sentencing no matter what the jury. found. >> But for Tupac's sister set Shakur, this. trial is not about revenge. Where I do. find justice is in all of the people. that's been inspired by him. all of the. doctors, the legal field, people in the. legal field, all of the lawyers, the. doctors, the teachers, um. the artists, the new philosophers that.

come around that have been inspired by. Tupac, um that keep his name, his. energy, his integrity, and his vision. for our people alive or for human beings. alive. That is justice. The fact that his. impact still shakes and moves and shapes. this world. That's justice. But my. message to them, whomever you are, is. thank you for trusting him. Thank you.

for. taking his words and his intentions. and putting action in life to it and um. continuing his legacy of love. struggle. and resilience. >> This trial is scheduled to last about. four to five weeks and we will be. following every moment of it, streaming. this entire trial on our long crime. trials channel and here on Sidebar.

We're going to be doing recaps [music]. of the biggest moments from each day. Hopefully you can join us. It's all we. have for you right now here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so much for joining. us. As always, please subscribe on. YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you get your [music] podcast. You can also check us out on NBC's. Peacock as well if you want to follow. me. X [music] Instagram, my NewsNation. show, Jesse Weber Live, Monday through. Friday, 11:00 PM Eastern. See you next. time, everybody.