Online Reporter
LAS VEGAS. – Some members of Tupac Shakur’s family stepped out of the courtroom Tuesday before prosecutors showed photos from his autopsy at the trial of Duane “Keffe D’ Davis, who is charged with orchestrating the 1996 drive-by shooting that killed the rap giant.
Others remained in the courtroom to face the grim facts of what happened to his body.
Davis, 63, could get life in prison if he’s 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.”
Lawyer Michael Sanft told jurors Davis wasn’t previously charged, despite implicating himself in interviews and his memoir, because law enforcement knew that he was “full of crap.”
Medical examiner testifies about Tupac Shakur’s autopsy
Dr Lisa Gavin, a forensic pathologist and medical examiner for Clark County, Nevada, was among the early witnesses on the second day of testimony.
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.
One woman got up to leave once the photos were shown.
Shakur’s cousin Zayd Akinyela said he wanted to stay in court to learn more.
“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,” Akinyela told The Associated Press outside the courtroom.
“A lot of people don’t get to grieve until they understand what happened to their loved one and how it happened.”
He added, “That’s why I wanted to stay and just see for my own personal closure.”
Akinyela said he hadn’t known how many times his cousin was shot and can’t help but think of the ways the night could have played out differently.
Gavin described three bullets, one of which travelled through Shakur’s 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.
Additional bullets damaged his intestines and other parts of his body, she said.
Jurors looked intently at the photos of Shakur’s body, which was bloated and had multiple chest wounds.
The nearly full courtroom was quiet. One photo showed his tattoos and the chest tubes that were still in his body from the six days he spent in the hospital before dying.
The images were not shown in the video feed from the trial.
Gavin was not at Shakur’s autopsy but was called as an expert witness because the examiner from 30 years ago has since died.
As Gavin explained the photos, Davis sat still, looking at the screen in front of him.
He occasionally whispered in his attorney’s ear.
Family members who had stepped out returned for the testimony of subsequent witnesses.
Akinyela said the photos made him feel “very angry, very angry, to say the least, very sad.”
But he said, “I’m very spiritual, so just seeing the body doesn’t 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.”
Jury shown video of clash before Tupac Shakur’s death
Prosecutors allege Shakur was killed to avenge his entourage attacking Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, a few hours earlier at the MGM Grand after a Mike Tyson fight.
On Tuesday, jurors were shown the casino’s 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.
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.
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.
A few hours later, Shakur, riding in a black BMW with hip-hop mogul Marion “Suge” Knight, was gunned down by shots fired from a white Cadillac that had Davis, Anderson and two other men inside. Davis is not charged with pulling the trigger.
Knight has said he doesn’t want to be called as a witness in the case, which could be a problem for prosecutors.
“It puts the prosecution in a really difficult position because it sounds like he’s not going to be helpful for their case, and yet jurors are going to want to hear from the only living witness,” CBS News legal contributor Caroline Polisi said.
“Hostile” witness refuses to revisit the past
After many technical and procedural witnesses, James McDonald brought both hostility and humor to the stand when he testified unwillingly under a court order.
McDonald, like Knight, had been affiliated with the Mob Piru Bloods gang and worked security for Knight at his Club 662, where Shakur and Knight had been headed when they were fired on. Davis was a member of the rival South Side Compton Crips.
Asked by Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal if he was aware of why Anderson was beaten, he wouldn’t say.
“I’m aware of a lot of things,” McDonald said, “things that was going on, people ain’t talked about them in 30 years. Today ain’t one of them.”
He said, “Me or anybody else bringing up the dead is wrong,” and “you’d better treat me as a hostile witness.” – CBSNews.com
