Graphic details of the injuries that killed American rap icon Tupac Shakur have been revealed before jurors in the murder trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis in Las Vegas.
Some members of Shakur’s family left the courtroom on Tuesday before prosecutors displayed photographs from the rapper’s 1996 autopsy.
Others who remained reportedly looked away as the images were shown.
Forensic pathologist Dr Lisa Gavin told the court that one of the bullets entered Shakur’s chest near his armpit before travelling through his chest and damaging a lung.
The wound caused the lung to collapse and bleed severely, she testified.
Doctors eventually removed the damaged lung in an attempt to save the rapper’s life.
Other bullets also struck Shakur’s intestines and caused injuries to additional parts of his body.
Shakur remained in hospital for six days before dying on September 13, 1996. He was 25.
Gavin did not carry out the original autopsy but was called to testify as an expert because the medical examiner who conducted it three decades ago has since died.
Why Tupac’s wounds matter in Keffe D’s murder trial
The medical testimony forms an important part of prosecutors’ effort to establish precisely how Shakur died before turning fully to who they say was responsible for setting the fatal attack in motion.
Davis is not accused of personally firing the bullets.
Prosecutors instead allege that he organised the retaliatory shooting after members of Shakur’s entourage attacked his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, at the MGM Grand hours earlier.
Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told jurors that Davis “did not pull the trigger” but planned the shooting in revenge for the assault on Anderson.
The prosecution is expected to rely heavily on statements Davis made over the years.
Authorities say he described his role in interviews with investigators and later discussed the events surrounding Shakur’s killing in his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend.
Davis has pleaded not guilty.
His lawyer, Michael Sanft, has attacked the prosecution’s case as “fiction” and argued that Davis repeatedly exaggerated or fabricated stories about his involvement.
The defence is also expected to make the passage of time a central issue.
Nearly 30 years have passed since the shooting, raising questions about fading memories, deceased witnesses and the reliability of recollections from people connected to the case.
Davis could face life imprisonment if convicted.
For Shakur’s family, however, Tuesday’s testimony brought the case back to its most painful point — the injuries that ended the life of one of hip-hop’s most influential stars at just 25.
