What we know about Tupac Shakur's death and what to expect from murder trial

Theory Briefing

• Tupac was shot in Las Vegas in September 1996, and no one was charged for nearly three decades despite intense public and investigative scrutiny.
• The case spawned a dense web of competing theories — from gang rivalry to industry conspiracies — that became inseparable from hip-hop culture itself.
• A murder trial is now expected to put the long-circulating accounts to a legal test for the first time, forcing evidence into the open.
• The case's grip on music, fashion, and fan identity shows how an unsolved killing can become a cultural myth that outlasts the facts.