A forensic pathologist has detailed the gunshot injuries that killed American rap legend Tupac Shakur as the murder trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis continued in Las Vegas.
Some members of Shakur’s family left the courtroom on Tuesday before prosecutors displayed photographs from the rapper’s 1996 autopsy.
Dr Lisa Gavin, a forensic pathologist and medical examiner for Clark County, Nevada, told jurors that one bullet entered Shakur’s chest near his armpit and travelled through his chest and a lung.
She said the injury caused the lung to collapse and bleed, forcing doctors to remove the damaged lung in an attempt to save his life.
Other bullets damaged Shakur’s intestines and other parts of his body, Gavin testified.
Shakur died in hospital six days after he was shot in a drive-by attack in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996.
He was 25.
Gavin did not conduct the original autopsy but testified as an expert because the medical examiner who handled the case three decades ago has since died.
Relatives who remained in court reportedly looked away as prosecutors displayed the autopsy photographs, while another woman left after the images appeared.
Davis, 63, remained seated during the testimony and occasionally spoke quietly with his lawyer.
Prosecutors accuse Davis of orchestrating the shooting in retaliation for an attack on his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, by members of Shakur’s entourage outside the MGM Grand hours earlier.
Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told jurors during opening statements that Davis did not personally fire the shots but allegedly planned the attack.
“Duane Davis did not pull the trigger. But he did plan the shooting in retaliation of the beating of his nephew,” Palal said.
Prosecutors also pointed to previous interviews and Davis’ 2019 memoir, *Compton Street Legend*, in which they say he repeatedly described his involvement in events surrounding the killing.
Davis has pleaded not guilty to murder with a deadly weapon with intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang.
His lawyer, Michael Sanft, dismissed the prosecution’s account as “fiction” and argued that Davis’ earlier statements should not be treated as reliable confessions.
Sanft said the three decades that have passed since Shakur’s death would also pose challenges for witnesses attempting to accurately recall events.
If convicted, Davis could face life imprisonment.
Shakur remains one of hip-hop’s most influential figures, with his music and cultural impact continuing decades after his death.
