In short
Episode 8 covers the end of the prosecution’s case in the Tupac murder trial, focusing on Dwayne Keefe D. Davis’s televised “mouthing words” clip, his jail phone calls, and the judge’s rights advisement before the defense begins.
Guests
None mentioned in the transcript (no guest interviews). Host is Anushka Mitanda Doughty; defense attorney Michael “Sam” (Michael Sampt) appears in a post-court presser.
Key claims
Social media alleges Davis called Reggie Wright Jr. a “rat,” but the clip was shown without audio and the defense attorney wouldn’t confirm what Davis mouthed. Prosecutors use Davis’s anger and jail calls as motive. Davis says he was paid to write his 2019 book “Compton Street Legend” and claims “I have blood on my money.” Defense indicates Davis won’t testify; they’ll call 1996 Metro/LV police officers.
Notable examples
Vlad TV book/veracity clips; jail calls repeating “get the book”; judge warning about cross-examination on a 2016 felony; Cam’ron briefly appearing in the courtroom entry area.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOTrial Updates and Evidence
0:45 to 1:51
Overview of the prosecution's case and evidence presented in court.
“They are done presenting their witnesses and their facts to the jury and it will begin the defence tomorrow.”
Keefe D's Statements and Jail Calls
1:51 to 2:56
Discussion on Dwayne Keefe D. Davis's statements in jail calls and their implications.
“But the jury were shown that today amongst other things.”
Defense Strategy and Witnesses
2:56 to 5:50
Insights into the defense strategy and the witnesses expected to testify.
“So go get the book, you know, and you can get the real truth about this whole situation.”
Prosecution's Closing Arguments and Observations
5:50 to 7:54
Reflections on the prosecution's closing arguments and courtroom dynamics.
“he said he was just cleaning up some of the prosecution's case, clarifying some things by putting them on the stand.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Get more with BBC podcasts wherever you listen. Be the first to listen to your favourite shows like Evil Genius, Good Bad Billionaire and You're Dead to Me with a subscription to BBC Podcasts Premium on Apple Podcasts. You can also enjoy a range of our podcasts ad-free with an Amazon Music subscription. Just to let you know, some topics in this episode might be distressing for some of our listeners and we have some strong language.
0:37Hello and welcome back to the Tupac Murder Trial from Fame Under Fire from BBC Sounds with me, Anushka Mitanda Doughty. The prosecution have officially rested their case. They are done presenting their witnesses and their facts to the jury and it will begin the defence tomorrow. but we did have a few more things that we witnessed go into evidence today and I want to talk about them because it's something I haven't seen before. One of the clips that we were played of Dwayne Keefe D. Davis today as the prosecution were finishing up was actually from the trial. It was a televised clip of him that was taken just after Reggie Wright Jr.
1:06had testified. Now, it wasn't played with any sound. There isn't sound that accompanies that clip, but it has been doing the rounds on social media. At that time when Reggie Wright Jr. is sitting in front of the witness stand that Mr. Davis is mouthing words at Reggie Wright Jr. And social media has claimed that Dwayne Kifidi Davis is calling Reggie Wright Jr. a rat after he testified against him in the trial. Now, that was shown to the jury, but it wasn't said this is what he was saying. They didn't allege that he was saying he was calling him a rat or anything else. We asked defense attorney Sanft about it afterwards, and he says, you know, I saw the clip.
1:38He's not saying in it what social media has decided he's saying, but Sanft didn't say as to what he thought his client might have been mouthing in court. That's the commentary that we had on that. If it pops back up at closing arguments, we will let you know if the prosecution say anything more about it. But the jury were shown that today amongst other things. And those other things were things we've been talking about for a very long time. So if you remember, the prosecution's theory is that Dwayne Kifidi-Davis is essentially told on himself in his own book, published in 2019, Compton Street Legend, where he alleges he was the architect of the crime that killed Tupac Shakur.
2:09Now, they played clips from Vlad TV interview, which we've been telling you guys about since the beginning, since our first episodes on this two-part murder trial, where he talks about the veracity of the book, and he claims this is the truth. He holds it up and says, this is my book. Go and get my book if you want to know the truth of what happened that night. And then the interviewer in that Vlad TV interview begins to read a section of the book where he recounts the tale of going to the car of Erickson Martin and Foxy Brown being in the front seat of the car and him getting handed a Glock 40.
2:38and Kifi D repeats once again, get the book. You need to get the book. I want you to buy the book. Do you have$20? Get your$20 and go and buy the book. This is my book here. I would like you guys to buy it and get the real truth instead of from a cop or some fucking industry people, some bullshit. You're getting it from the real m****. So go get the book, you know, and you can get the real truth about this whole situation. They also played us a couple more of those jail phone calls. Now, we heard some of those in opening statements before when they were talking about the visceral anger that Dwayne Keefe D.
3:12Davis had to this day about Tupac Shakur, where he's heard saying on the phone, he's not an icon, he's not an icon, he beat up a kid. And then he calls him a flurry of slurs and makes some allegations against Tupac.
3:36And you can hear the level of anger that he has against him and the prosecution are using this to say if he's this angry in the 2020s imagine how angry he was on the night that the beating at the MGM took place so that's their motive that they've been speaking to throughout this trial I do just want to add though So when you make a jail phone call and you are an inmate, you are repeatedly told during the phone call that it's being recorded before, during and at the end. So Dwayne Keapity Davis would have been aware that those phone calls were being recorded. However, we did hear clips of him saying things like this.
4:09Yes, I wrote the book. I was paid to say that shit. They can't use that against me because I was paid. They try to use my statements against me. You're going to lose, dude. I was paid to say that, stupid. You can't use my shit against me, stupid.
4:27And then he also says, quote, I have blood on my money.
4:35Now, after this, the prosecution rested their case. So they are done presenting their case to the jury. Then the judge began to read Keefe D his rights and said, you have the right to testify. You can get up on the stand. This means that you will be cross-examined by the prosecution. It also means you can be cross-examined on any felonies you have from the past 10 years. The prosecution clarified that there would only be one that was relevant, and that was something he started serving in 2016. And then Quim Fidi, he spoke again. He said, yeah, judge, I understand what you're saying. And then after they brought up the felony in 2016, he said this.
5:07Is that why they said I'm going to attack me? I understand that's about you, but that's your position that that happened. But ultimately, I don't know anything about that case. I've never looked at it, OK? OK, now. Now, if it looks a little lighter in the day, that's because it is. It was literally a 35-minute court session because the defence wasn't actually ready to begin presenting their case. The witnesses that they needed were not there today. So the prosecution rested, and we got a little bit more of a clue from the defence about what's going to happen. Dwayne Kiefer-D Davis is not going to be testifying.
5:37Sam said, I think we've heard enough from Dwayne Kiefer-D Davis, which is probably a fair assessment. There's going to be a couple of Metro police officers, Las Vegas Metro police officers from 1996 who are going to take the stand and testify for the defendant. And when I spoke to Sam afterwards, he said he was just cleaning up some of the prosecution's case, clarifying some things by putting them on the stand. But this is not going to be a long presentation. They start tomorrow at 12, and we think they could be ready for the rebuttal experts at 2 tomorrow. So a very, very short case being put on by the defense.
6:05And then closing, they said, closing arguments on Monday, which probably looks like a verdict next week. Now, afterwards, Michael Sampt came downstairs. He was doing a bit of a presser. and I caught up with some of what he was saying about the strength of the case and some of what he had to say about when somebody's words matter. Huckle, you've heard the phrase, man's word is his bond. Should a man's own word be enough to convict him? So there was a movie called Jeremy Aguirre. And in that movie, there's a guy who shakes the hand of Jeremy Aguirre and says, my word is my bond. And then he screws him right after.
6:37So in essence, we live in a world today that if you don't write it down on a piece of paper and attests something to be true and correct to the best of your knowledge, then it's just the word. But isn't that exactly what he did with his book and then testified to the veracity of it multiple times in public interviews? I don't think he did. You might want to double-check that. So are you saying that his word isn't worth the paper it's written on, even now today? What? Are you saying that his word is not worth the paper that it's written on even today? I think anyone's word is not worth the paper that it's written on until such time as it's proven to be true.
7:07He also revealed during that small presser that he has not spoken to Suge Knight, that Suge Knight did not give an interview to the defense, but that he did do a two-hour interview with the prosecution. Sam said he'd made a few different attempts to contact him, but they had not sat down together. But yeah, Suge Knight has spoken and done an interview with the prosecution, but he, of course, was not called as a witness for the prosecution. And we know that he said he does not want to testify in this trial. Other than that, there was a bit of excitement at the beginning of the day because the singer, Cam Ron, turned up in the overflow room that we go into to enter the lottery to get into the courtroom.
7:38Then people were taking pictures with him. and then he got in the courtroom and maybe he didn't find the trial that interesting because he nodded off quite quickly. But really, those were the moments of the day. It was a short but impactful finish for the prosecution and it will be interesting to see what the defence put on. We know their central line is you cannot trust what Dwayne Keefe D. Davis has said about what Dwayne Keefe D. Davis has done in his book and podcast or otherwise. But there's clearly some more that they want to get out of Metropolitan Police officers who were working that night in 1996.
8:06And if we remember Sam's overarching argument, There are no material facts and there are no witnesses that can place Dwayne Keithy Davis in Las Vegas on the night of the 7th September 1996. So that is it for this episode of the Tupac Murder Trial from Fame Under Fire by BBC Sounds with me, Anushka Matanda-Dowarty. Make sure you subscribe and turn on those push notifications so you never miss a thing.
8:52We'll be right back.
9:08you listen. Be the first to listen to your favourite shows like Evil Genius, Good Bad Billionaire and You're Dead to Me with a subscription to BBC Podcasts Premium on Apple Podcasts. You can also enjoy a range of our podcasts ad-free with an Amazon Music subscription.
From the publisher
Jurors hear jail calls from Duane "Keffe D" Davis in which he makes angry allegations about Tupac Shakur and says he is not an icon.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis is charged with murder and accused of orchestrating Shakur's death. He has denied the charges and pleaded not guilty.
The jury were also shown silent courtroom footage of Davis mouthing towards Reggie Wright Jr after his testimony. The clip has prompted claims on social media that Davis called him a “rat” and Davis’s lawyer disputes that interpretation.
The prosecution has now officially rested its case.
For Fame Under Fire: The Tupac Murder Trial, Anoushka is in the Las Vegas courtroom every day to bring you updates.
Make sure you lock in so you don’t miss a thing.
Host: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Series Producer: Louise Clarke Digital Journalist: Daniel Raza Production Coordinator: Phoebe Lomas Technical Producer: Richard Hanniford Editor: Clare Fordham Commissioning Producer: Adam Eland Assistant Commissioner: Chris Walsh-Heron Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
