Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was fatally shot on the Las Vegas Strip, jurors are finally hearing evidence in a courtroom about one of the most infamous killings in music history.

And on Tuesday, August 18, the trial took an especially emotional turn.

Jurors in Las Vegas were shown graphic autopsy photographs of Shakur while a forensic pathologist explained the injuries the 25-year-old rapper suffered after being shot in September 1996. Some members of Shakur’s family left the courtroom before the images were displayed, while relatives who remained were seen looking away.

The evidence was presented during the second day of testimony in the murder trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, the only person ever charged in connection with Shakur’s killing.

Davis has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors accuse him of helping organize the fatal attack, while his defense argues that the government is attempting to turn decades-old stories and statements into evidence of a murder conspiracy.

Here’s what happened in court — and why this trial could finally answer questions hip-hop fans have been asking since 1996.

Jurors Were Shown Tupac Shakur’s Autopsy Photos

One of Tuesday’s most difficult moments came when Dr. Lisa Gavin, a forensic pathologist and Clark County medical examiner, testified about Shakur’s injuries.

Gavin did not perform the original autopsy. The medical examiner who handled the case nearly three decades ago has since died, so Gavin appeared as an expert witness to explain the findings.

According to her testimony, one bullet entered Shakur’s chest near the armpit and traveled through his chest, damaging a lung. The injury caused the lung to collapse and bleed, and doctors eventually removed the damaged lung while attempting to save his life.

Other bullets caused damage to Shakur’s intestines and additional areas of his body.

Shakur survived for six days after the September 7, 1996 shooting before dying in a Las Vegas hospital.

For fans who have followed the case through documentaries, interviews, books and conspiracy theories, hearing the medical evidence presented directly to a jury represents a very different chapter.

This is no longer speculation about what happened.

A criminal jury is now being asked to examine the physical evidence surrounding Shakur’s death.

Some Members of Tupac’s Family Left the Courtroom

The testimony was particularly emotional because members of Shakur’s family were present.

Before prosecutors displayed the autopsy photographs, some relatives chose to leave the courtroom. Others stayed.

According to reporting from the Associated Press, relatives who remained visibly looked away when some of the images appeared.

For Shakur’s family, the trial presents an incredibly difficult contradiction.

It may offer the closest thing they have had to legal accountability in three decades.

But getting there requires reliving the final hours and devastating injuries of someone they lost when he was only 25 years old.

The MGM Grand Fight Is Becoming a Major Part of the Case

To understand the prosecution’s theory, jurors are being taken back to the night of September 7, 1996.

Earlier that evening, Shakur attended the Mike Tyson–Bruce Seldon fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Afterward, surveillance footage captured Shakur and members of his entourage attacking Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, who was Duane Davis’ nephew.

Jurors have now been shown footage of that confrontation.

Prosecutors argue that the beating provided the motive for what happened only hours later.

According to the prosecution, Davis helped organize an act of retaliation after Anderson was attacked. Authorities allege Davis was traveling in a white Cadillac with Anderson and two other men as they searched for Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight.

Shakur was riding in a black BMW driven by Knight when another vehicle pulled alongside them near the Las Vegas Strip.

Gunfire erupted.

Shakur was hit multiple times.

Knight was wounded but survived. Shakur died six days later.

Prosecutors Say Davis Didn’t Have to Pull the Trigger

One of the most important details in the case is that prosecutors are not claiming Davis personally fired the shots.

Instead, they argue that he helped plan and facilitate the attack.

Prosecutors have told jurors that Davis obtained or helped provide the weapon and was involved in the effort to retaliate after the casino fight.

That distinction is crucial.

Under Nevada law, prosecutors can pursue a murder case against someone they allege knowingly participated in the crime even if that individual was not the shooter.

Davis, 63, has pleaded not guilty.

If convicted on the murder charge he faces the possibility of life imprisonment.

Davis’ Own Words Could Become the Center of the Trial

Perhaps the most unusual aspect of the entire prosecution is where some of its most important evidence allegedly came from:

Davis himself.

For years, Davis spoke publicly about the night Shakur was killed.

He discussed the case in interviews and later co-authored the 2019 memoir Compton Street Legend. Prosecutors say statements Davis made over the years place him inside the Cadillac involved in the shooting and describe him providing a firearm to men sitting in the back seat.

Those public statements helped revive an investigation that had been largely dormant for years.

Davis was eventually arrested and indicted in 2023.

Now prosecutors are attempting to use his own previous accounts against him.

The Defense Says Those Stories Shouldn’t Be Trusted

Davis’ attorneys are attacking exactly that point.

The defense argues that Davis exaggerated or fabricated stories about his involvement and that prosecutors lack enough independent evidence to prove their theory beyond a reasonable doubt.

During opening statements, defense attorney Michael Sanft characterized the prosecution’s version of events as “fiction.”

The defense has also pointed to one of the biggest problems facing prosecutors:

Nearly 30 years have passed.

Memories fade.

Witnesses die.

Documents disappear.

Stories change.

The three other men authorities say were inside the Cadillac with Davis have all died, making it impossible for prosecutors or defense attorneys to question them in court.

That means the jury may ultimately have to decide whether Davis’ decades of statements were admissions of involvement — or simply stories told by a man seeking attention.

One Witness Wanted Nothing to Do With the Case

Tuesday also demonstrated another problem prosecutors could face: witnesses who simply do not want to revisit what happened.

James McDonald, a former associate of Suge Knight who was compelled to testify by court order, openly resisted answering certain questions about the people and gang dynamics surrounding the case.

At one point, he effectively asked the court to treat him as a hostile witness and made clear that he did not want his testimony to contribute to Davis going to prison.

That reluctance echoes one of the issues investigators encountered almost immediately after Shakur’s death.

For years, law enforcement officials have described difficulty getting witnesses to cooperate.

Nearly three decades later, that problem has not completely disappeared.

Why Did It Take Almost 30 Years for Someone to Go on Trial?

That remains one of the biggest questions surrounding Tupac Shakur’s death.

Police investigated the shooting for years, but no one was charged.

Authorities have said Davis had long been on investigators’ radar, but prosecutors did not believe they had enough usable evidence to bring a case.

That began to change after Davis repeatedly discussed the killing publicly.

Police said his media appearances and statements helped breathe new life into the cold case.

Then, in September 2023, almost exactly 27 years after Shakur was shot, Davis was arrested.

Now, in August 2026, a jury is finally hearing the case.

Could Suge Knight Testify?

Another massive moment may still be coming.

Suge Knight, who was sitting beside Tupac when the shooting happened, could potentially appear as a witness during the trial.

Knight was driving the BMW when the gunfire erupted and suffered a minor injury. He is currently incarcerated on an unrelated conviction.

His testimony would immediately become one of the biggest moments of the trial.

Whether it provides new answers is another question entirely.

This Trial Is About More Than One Defendant

For almost three decades, Tupac Shakur’s murder has occupied a strange place between true crime, hip-hop history and popular mythology.

There have been documentaries.

Books.

Conflicting interviews.

Alleged confessions.

Gang theories.

East Coast versus West Coast theories.

And countless claims about who actually fired the weapon.

But until now, there had never been a murder trial.

That makes the proceedings unfolding in Las Vegas historically significant regardless of the eventual verdict.

For the first time, prosecutors are being forced to present their theory in front of a jury.

The defense gets to challenge it.

Witnesses are being placed under oath.

Evidence is being introduced in court.

And 12 jurors will eventually have to determine what they believe actually happened.

What Happens Next?

The trial is expected to continue for several weeks, with dozens of witnesses potentially appearing. Reuters reported before testimony began that proceedings could last as long as six weeks.

And some of the biggest moments may still be ahead.

The prosecution will attempt to connect Davis’ past statements with physical evidence, witnesses and events from the night Shakur was shot.

The defense will attempt to show that those statements are unreliable and that three decades of speculation cannot replace proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

One thing is already clear:

Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur’s death, the story that became one of music’s greatest mysteries is finally being tested inside a courtroom.

Whether that trial ultimately produces long-awaited answers — or creates even more questions — could shape how the world remembers the case for decades to come.

Duane Davis has pleaded not guilty. Allegations presented by prosecutors remain allegations unless and until proven in court.

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