{"id":818124,"date":"2026-08-18T22:46:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T22:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/818124\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T22:46:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T22:46:08","slug":"tupac-shakurs-family-exits-courtroom-as-autopsy-photos-shown-at-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/818124\/","title":{"rendered":"Tupac Shakur’s family exits courtroom as autopsy photos shown at trial"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAS VEGAS (AP) \u2014 Some members of Tupac Shakur\u2019s<\/a> family stepped out of the courtroom Tuesday before prosecutors showed photos from his autopsy at the Las Vegas trial of the man charged in the killing of the rap giant. <\/p>\n

Others remained in the courtroom to face the grim facts of what happened to his body. <\/p>\n

The grisly photos came on the second day of testimony in the trial of Duane \u201cKeffe D\u201d Davis<\/a>, who is charged with orchestrating the 1996 drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. <\/p>\n

Dr. Lisa Gavin, a forensic pathologist and medical examiner for Clark County, Nevada, described Shakur\u2019s injuries and explained his cause of death. Jurors were shown a photo of a green body bag at the beginning of her questioning, followed by a grisly photo of his body. Some relatives who remained in the courtroom looked away. <\/p>\n

Tupac\u2019s family in the Las Vegas courtroom<\/p>\n

Shakur\u2019s cousin Zayd Akinyela said he wanted to stay in court to learn more. <\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like the details, especially for people that are close to him, honestly for me helps, helps the grief process. I think we\u2019ve been waiting 30 years to grieve properly,\u201d Akinyela told The Associated Press outside the courtroom. \u201cA lot of people don\u2019t get to grieve until they understand what happened to their loved one and how it happened.\u201d He added, \u201cThat\u2019s why I wanted to stay and just see for my own personal closure.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he hadn\u2019t known how many times his cousin was shot and can\u2019t help but think of the ways the night could have played out differently.<\/p>\n

Seeing the photos of Shakur\u2019s body made him feel \u201cVery angry, very angry, to say the least, very sad,\u201d Akinyela said.<\/p>\n

What the forensic pathologist said about the gunshots<\/p>\n

Gavin described three bullets, one of which traveled through Shakur\u2019s chest, including through a lung. That caused his lung to collapse and bleed, and doctors ultimately removed the damaged lung in an effort to save his life, she said.<\/p>\n

Additional bullets damaged his intestines and other parts of his body, she said. <\/p>\n

Jurors looked intently at the photos of Shakur\u2019s body, which was bloated and had multiple chest wounds. The nearly full courtroom was quiet. Photos showed his tattoos and the chest tubes that were still in his body from the six days he spent in the hospital before dying. <\/p>\n

The images were not shown in the video feed from the trial.<\/p>\n

Gavin was not at Shakur\u2019s autopsy but was called as an expert witness because the examiner from 30 years ago has since died. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n Sign up for Morning Wire:
\n Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day.\n <\/p>\n

As Gavin explained the photos, Davis sat still, looking at the screen in front of him. He occasionally whispered in his attorney\u2019s ear. <\/p>\n

Family members who had stepped out returned for the testimony of subsequent witnesses. <\/p>\n

Surveillance video of a clash before the drive-by shooting<\/p>\n

Prosecutors allege Shakur was killed to avenge Shakur\u2019s entourage attacking Davis\u2019 nephew<\/a> Orlando \u201cBaby Lane\u201d Anderson a few hours earlier at the MGM Grand after a Mike Tyson fight.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, jurors were shown the casino\u2019s surveillance video of the clash. The camera, which panned back and forth in the MGM Grand, showed a group of people beating and kicking someone on the ground.<\/p>\n

The video showed Shakur and his entourage moving quickly through the crowded building in the minutes after. At times, the other men had to jog to keep up with the rapper.<\/p>\n

The surveillance footage then showed security and police arriving at the scene and talking to Anderson, who was wearing a number 13 Dan Marino Miami Dolphins jersey. <\/p>\n

A few hours later, Shakur, riding in a black BMW with hip-hop mogul Marion \u201cSuge\u201d Knight, was gunned down by shots fired from a white Cadillac that had Davis, Anderson and two other men inside. Davis is not accused of pulling the trigger. <\/p>\n

Dean O\u2019Kelley, a former Las Vegas police officer, testified to finding several cartridges on the street at the scene, and got reports that the suspect\u2019s vehicle was a white Cadillac, potentially occupied by four Black men.<\/p>\n

He said he checked areas that he frequented while working in the police gang unit to look for it. <\/p>\n

What happens next <\/p>\n

Davis, 63, could get life in prison if he\u2019s convicted of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. He has pleaded not guilty. His lawyer in the defense opening called the prosecution\u2019s narrative \u201cfiction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawyer Michael Sanft told jurors Davis wasn\u2019t previously charged, despite implicating himself in interviews and his memoir, because law enforcement knew that he was \u201cfull of crap.\u201d <\/p>\n

Shakur, who used the stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, remains a cultural icon<\/a> and is considered one of the most influential and versatile rappers of all time. He died as his popularity was peaking at age 25, and his legend has only grown in the years since. <\/p>\n

Akinyela, Shakur\u2019s cousin, said, \u201cI\u2019m very spiritual, so just seeing the body doesn\u2019t affect me the same way as it might some people. I do believe that his spirit is still around and still lives on through his family and through his legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press Writer Rebecca Boone contributed from Boise, Idaho. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAS VEGAS (AP) \u2014 Some members of Tupac Shakur\u2019s family stepped out of the courtroom Tuesday before prosecutors…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":818125,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[1927,2356,2302,347109,26657,88,50546,793,694,18320,2114,2221,347110,343507,23193,1058,1060,4382,2226,27724,795,16757,347111],"class_list":["post-818124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-ap-top-news","tag-california","tag-courts","tag-dean-okelley","tag-death-and-dying","tag-entertainment","tag-forensics","tag-general-news","tag-homicide","tag-juries","tag-las-vegas","tag-legal-proceedings","tag-lisa-gavin","tag-michael-sanft","tag-mike-tyson","tag-nevada","tag-nv-state-wire","tag-shootings","tag-trials","tag-tupac-shakur","tag-u-s-news","tag-violence","tag-zayd-akinyela"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=818124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818124\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/818125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=818124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=818124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=818124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}