Judge allows use of police interview in Tupac Shakur murder trial

Law Judge allows use of police interview in Tupac Shakur murder trial July 29, 20262:04 AM ET By  The Associated Press Rapper Tupac Shakur attends a voter registration event in South Central Los Angeles on Aug. 15, 1996, left, and Duane "Keffe D" Davis appears in District Court for his involvement in the 1996 killing of Shakur in Las Vegas on Feb. 18, 2025. AP Photo hide caption toggle caption AP Photo LAS VEGAS — A Nevada judge ruled on Tuesday that the recording of an interview the man accused in the killing Tupac Shakur gave to police in 2008 could be used at his upcoming trial. Culture Suspect in Tupac Shakur's murder has pleaded not guilty Judge Carli Kierny found that the interview is admissible in Duane "Keffe D" Davis' trial, which is scheduled to start Aug. 10. Davis, 63, is charged with murder in Shakur's 1996 killing and faces life in prison without parole if convicted. Prosecutors allege Davis orchestrated the killing. Shakur's death is considered one of the most notorious unsolved murders in the United States. The case went cold until Davis began making public statements about it, including in a book he co-wrote in which he said he was in the Cadillac and provided the weapon used to shoot Shakur. Sponsor Message Defense attorney Michael Sanft argued that a 2008 interview Davis gave law enforcement was supposed to be confidential, and that detectives explicitly told him the interview was not supposed to be used against him. "I sang because they promised I would not be prosecuted," Davis wrote in his book "Compton Street Legend." Prosecutors argued there was no basis to exclude the interview from the trial, which is expected to take about four weeks. They argued the interview was no longer inadmissible when Davis chose to write his book and speak publicly about what happened. Author Interviews Tupac's life was 'yin and yang,' writes author of 'Only God Can Judge Me' Davis' attorney unsuccessfully tried to block the use of the book in the upcoming tri...