Family members react as autopsy photos of Tupac Shakur are shown at murder trial

Some relatives of the late rapper left the Las Vegas courtroom on Tuesday after prosecutors presented autopsy photographs of Tupac Shakur, while others remained to hear the testimony. The trial concerns Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, who faces a murder-with-a-deadly-weapon charge that could carry life imprisonment. Davis has pleaded not guilty and his lawyer described the prosecution’s case as "fiction."

Forensic pathologist Dr. Lisa Gavin, a Clark County medical examiner, testified about the injuries Shakur sustained. Jurors first saw a photo of a green body bag, followed by a graphic image of Shakur’s bloated body with multiple chest wounds, tattoos and chest tubes still in place. The images were not broadcast in the trial’s video feed.

"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," said Shakur’s cousin Zayd Akinyela to the Associated Press outside the courtroom. He added that the photos made him "very angry, very angry, to say the least, very sad," but expressed belief that Shakur’s spirit lives on.

Gavin explained that three bullets struck Shakur, one puncturing a lung and causing it to collapse, another damaging his intestines and other organs. The prosecution also showed surveillance video from the MGM Grand that captured a clash involving Shakur’s entourage and the nephew of Davis hours before the shooting.

Witnesses linked the motive to retaliation for that earlier assault. Former security officer Reggie Wright Jr. described heightened tensions between Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records leading up to the incident, and testified that he received Shakur’s ashes after the rapper was cremated.

The trial continues with additional testimony, including from a former gang-affiliated security guard who invoked his right to remain hostile toward the defendant.