Tupac Shakur’s family members walk out of courtroom as graphic autopsy photos shown at murder trial
Some family members of Tupac Shakur left the courtroom as prosecutors showed photos of his autopsy during the trial of a man accused of killing the late rapper.
Duane 'Keffe D' Davis is facing one count of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang in the 1996 killing of Shakur.
On Tuesday (18 August), the high-profile Las Vegas trial entered its second day with evidence from Dr Lisa Gavin, a forensic pathologist and medical examiner for Clark County, Nevada.
The testimony included grisly autopsy photographs, which prompted some members of Shakur’s family to leave the courtroom prior to them being shown.
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Jurors were shown a photo of a green body bag at the beginning of her questioning, followed by a grisly photo of his body. His relatives who remained in the courtroom looked away. One woman got up to leave once the photos were shown.
Dr Gavin told the jury, the bullet entered Shakur’s chest near his armpit and travelled through his 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.
More bullets damaged his intestines and other parts of his body, she added.
Shakur died in hospital six days after he was shot.
The images were not shown in the video feed from the trial.
While some family members opted to leave before seeing the images, others decided to stay with his cousin saying he sat through the evidence in the hopes of gaining some ‘closure’.
Zayd Akinyela told the Associated Press outside of court: “I feel like the details, especially for people that are close to him, honestly for me helps, helps the grief process. I think we’ve been waiting 30 years to grieve properly. “A lot of people don’t get to grieve until they understand what happened to their loved one and how it happened. That’s why I wanted to stay and just see for my own personal closure.”
He went on to say that seeing the harrowing images had left him feeling ‘very angry, very angry, to say the least, very sad’.
The trial, which is expected to last weeks, began with opening statements on Monday (17 August).
Deputy district attorney Binu Palal told jurors: “Duane Davis did not pull the trigger. But he did plan the shooting in retaliation of the beating of his nephew. Remarkably, you will learn that from Duane Davis himself.”
Davis, 63, could be sentenced to life in prison if he is 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 defence opening called the prosecution’s narrative ‘fiction’.
During evidence given yesterday, a retired Las Vegas police officer said he had asked Shakur who shot him as the rapper was being loaded into an ambulance, and the musician said something like ‘no, we’ll take care of it’.
Claire Reid