EXCLUSIVE: Tupac Shakur's Family Claims Key Witness Was Murdered Before Police Interviewed Him About Rapper's Death
A potentially crucial witness to Tupac Shakur's murder was killed before police could question him further.
Aug. 19 2026, Published 5:00 p.m. ET
A key witness to Tupac Shakur's 1996 murder was gunned down just two months after the rapper's death, before investigators could conduct the crucial follow-up interview they hoped could help identify his killers, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
According to court documents obtained by Radar, Tupac's family highlighted the death of Yafeu 'Yaki Kadafi' Fula in its wrongful-death lawsuit against Duane 'Keefe D' Davis, the man now standing trial for allegedly orchestrating the rap icon's murder.
Key Witness Could Have Identified Tupac Shakur's Assailants
Law enforcement says Yafeu 'Yaki Kadafi' Fula was traveling in a vehicle directly behind Tupac's BMW.
The filing claims law enforcement considered Fula a "viable witness" because he was traveling in a vehicle directly behind the BMW carrying Tupac and Death Row Records boss Marion 'Suge' Knight when gunfire erupted near the Las Vegas Strip on September 7, 1996.
Fula, then just 19, potentially could have identified Tupac's assailants, according to the complaint. But investigators never got that opportunity. Fula was fatally shot inside a New Jersey apartment building in November 1996 before he was interviewed further by Las Vegas investigators, the lawsuit states.
The Los Angeles Times previously reported that Fula had indicated to investigators he may have been able to recognize people involved in the attack. Detectives reportedly planned to show him photographs of potential suspects – including Davis' nephew, Orlando 'Baby Lane' Anderson — but Fula was killed before that follow-up could take place.
Witness' Death Takes On Renewed Significance
Fula's murder became another devastating blow to the investigation.
The Los Angeles Times reported at the time that a Las Vegas homicide investigator acknowledged his death had further frustrated efforts to solve Tupac's killing.
His death now takes on renewed significance as Davis stands trial nearly three decades later.
Prosecutors accuse Davis of helping orchestrate Tupac's killing in retaliation for an MGM Grand brawl involving Anderson, hours before the drive-by shooting.
A Case Haunted by Missing Witnesses
Duane 'Keefe D' Davis has pleaded not guilty in the alleged killing of Tupac.
Davis has pleaded not guilty and is not accused of firing the fatal shots himself. His defense has attacked the decades-old investigation and questioned the credibility of Davis' own previous accounts of the murder.
The Shakur family's lawsuit describes an investigation plagued by witness problems from its earliest days.
It claims witnesses refused to cooperate, suspects and potential witnesses died, and surviving individuals gave inconsistent accounts as investigators struggled for decades to make an arrest.
Tupac' Shakur's Witness Cooperation
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Marion 'Suge' Knight was behind the wheel with Shakur in the passenger seat when gunfire erupted in Las Vegas.
The question of witness cooperation has already resurfaced during Davis' trial.
Former Death Row associate James McDonald testified under subpoena this week and openly resisted answering questions that could implicate Davis, telling the court he did not want to help send him to prison.
Fula's death was not the only blow to the original investigation.
Anderson, once considered a primary suspect in Tupac's killing, was himself shot dead in an unrelated gang shooting in Compton in 1998. He was never charged in Tupac's murder.
