>> byron: tonight, tupac shakur's hits like "california love" -- ♪ say what you say ♪ >> byron: live on. but who killed the rap legend has been an enduring mystery that's gripped the world. >> you can't get away with murder when you come to las vegas. >> byron: the abc news investigation inside the probe to nab the man police say is behind the killing, keithy

>> we knew who did it, we didn't have a way to prove it in a court of law. >> byron: he says he's innocent. >> was there any evidence that put keefy davis here? >> byron: the never before heard audio police call a confession. >> what happened when you pulled up alongside? >> got to shooting. >> byron: plus biggy smalls. ♪ though your hands in the air ♪ >> byron: the big papa rapper remembered by his children. how investigation into his murder led police to the suspect in tupac's. >> was he a suspect in the shooting of tupac sha purchase? >> byron: "shot caller, the killing of tupac" will be right back. which gives you 72 hour odor protection from your pits to your- (sfx: deoderant being sprayed) secret whole body deodorant. - bye, bye cough. - later chest congestion. hello 12 hours of relief. 12 hours!! mucinex dm gives you 12 hours of relief from chest congestion and any cough, day or night. mucinex dm.

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plus ask how to get up to an $800 prepaid card. don't wait- call today. ♪ hey, keefe, metro police, come over here. >> reporter: it was an arrest three decades in the making. >> new developments in the unsoft murder of tupac. >> reporter: it shook the world of hip-hop and beyond. >> police arresting keefe d. >> authorities calling him the only living suspect for a murder americans have been obsessed with for years. >> what they got you for, man? >> biggest case in the las vegas history. >> reporter: according to investigators, keefe d's quiet life on this unassuming nevada street masked the criminal past of a hardened gangster responsible for the murder of one of the most influential rappers of our time, tupac shakur. what does it mean to this city

to bring forth an indictment? >> in one word, why us advertise. >> guilty or not guilty? >> not guilty. >> where's the gun? where's the cadillac? where's there any evidence that put keefe d. davis here? >> reporter: tonight, an abc news investigation pulling back the curtains, taking you inside the probe investigators say solved one of the most infamous cold cases in modern history. >> if all these people were living today, they'd all be arrested and charged with murder. >> reporter: the dueling police departments that may have complicated the investigation. >> i don't believe a lot of the information conducted in l.a. was actually being shared with us. >> there would be no indictment had we not did what we did then. >> reporter: the never before heard audio of keefe d. >> what happened when you pulled up alongside? >> got to shooting. >> a mastermind plotting things out? that's not keefe d. >> you can't get away to murder when you come to las vegas. >> reporter: 1996, tupac was at

the prime of his career when the 25-year-old death row records artist was shot near the strip. >> i like to think i'm revolutionary, i like to bring change. >> reporter: hits like "california love." ♪ say what you say or give me that ball beat from dre ♪ >> reporter: breaking through in films like "juice." >> check yourself. you got to [ bleep ] you got to take them out any time you feel like it! >> reporter: becoming a bona fide mainstream celebrity. this is a superstar about to take a megastar turn. >> snuffed out too soon. >> it was definitely a big case to me as a kid growing up here. >> reporter: lieutenant jason johanson was handed the reins at the las vegas metropolitan police department in 2021. why had the case gone cold? >> we knew what occurred and who did it. what we didn't have was a way to prove it in a court of law. >> reporter: abc news has learned that police actually interviewed keefe in 2009, 14

years before his arrest. we've obtained exclusive audio of what they're calling a confession which took place in california where keefe lived at the time. >> how do you feel about tupac being dead now? >> i wish it never happened, man. >> right. >> i swear. >> reporter: keefe d had long been on law enforcement's radar. so we're in compton, california. it's the hometown of keefe d, and it's not that big. it's about ten square miles. the gang ties here run deep, depending on where in the city you actually come from. in the '70s, '80s, '90s, the city of compton had become almost synonymous with the street gangs california is inpayment muth for. >> mainly the bloods and crips. >> reporter: a young man by the name of duane "keefe d" davis was making a name for himself as a major player for the crips.

>> by all accounted a well-established shock collar within the south side compton crips, worked his way up through the gang through narcotics and various other criminal activities. >> reporter: keefe d grew up with notorious figures in hip-hop like marion sugar knight, the death row records cofounder, who was with tupac when he was shot. >> then what did you see >> blood. >> did you see people with the guns? >> listen carefully. blood. >> reporter: in the '90s, keefe and shug found themselves on the opposite sides of the raging battle between west coast rappers and adversaries from the east coast. on one side, death row records which police say had connections with the bloods. on the other, bad boy records, which authorities say often hired keefe d's crips as security. it was run by ceo shaun combs, "puff daddy" and "ed diddy." home so artists like notorious

b.i.g. of big papi fame. ♪ >> dayne davis was the one organizing with bad boy records to offer them protection. >> reporter: abc news reached out to diddy and did not her back. when keefe sits down with vegas police in 2009, he tells his version of events from the night tupac was fatally shot. it was september 7th, 1996. it seems as though the entire world had come to vegas. to watch the much-awaited boxing match at the mgm grand between mike tyson and bruce selwyn. tupac and shug were in town, so were keefe and his crew who drove into town in that infamous white cadillac, he says. after the boxing match, tupac, shug, and their crew walked through the mgm grand hotel lobby. they encounter orlando "baby lane" anderson, keefe's nephew.

due pauk caught on hotel surveillance attacking orlando after tupac allegedly learned orlando might have pride to steal a prized death row pendant months earlier. >> when he punched orlando anderson, tupac shakur basically forced himself into gang politics. >> what did baby lane tell you? >> they jumped on him. >> who? >> death row, shug and them. >> reporter: according to prosecutors, that incident is what gave keefe and his soldiers what he called the ultimate green light. after that fight, tupac and his entourage head to club 662, a nightclub shug ran by the strip. >> we at the light on las vegas and flamingo. and he -- shug -- tupac hanging out the window. and all the girls going crazy on the corner. >> what happened when you pull up alongside? >> got to shooting.

>> who got to shooting? >> orlando, orlando said "give it here, i'll shoot." >> okay. >> and he got to shooting. >> how many times did orlando fire? approximately. >> about five or six. i seen a bullet like go in shug's head. i see the boy jump up and down trying to get in the back seat. >> the boy being? >> tupac. >> reporter: keefe also telling authorities he was the one who provided the murder weapon. >> you give the gun to somebody? >> yeah, i gave it to the cadillac. i don't know who i specifically handed it to. >> reporter: six days after he was shot, tupac shakur succumbed to his wounds. he was only 25. these are the players from the night of the shooting? >> these are the players. this is orlando anderson. he's in the right rear seat. keefe d in the right front passenger seat. >> reporter: without question, in your mind, based on your investigation, keefe d davis is the mastermind? >> none of them would have made

a decision to do something with keefe d in the car unless keefe d was part of that decision-making. >> reporter: what's the status of these other gentlemen? >> all deceased. davis is the only member still living. >> reporter: orlando anderson had always denied his involvement in tupac's murder. he died in an unrelated gang shoot-out in 1998. but keefe d's words alone allegedly telling the police he provided the murder weapon to another weren't enough to make an arrest at that point. >> we had no corroboration. no other cooperation of any other individuals. duane davis walks in and says, i lied. we have nothing to backstop that. the key on this case was to beyond the backstop it. >> reporter: coming up, the rival police department also talking to keefe d. >> a combination of arrogance and ignorance would prove to be his undoing. >> reporter: plus the man all sides say could make a difference in the case. what do you think about suge knight?

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♪ ♪ >> reporter: it's 1997. and bad boy records rapper notorious b.i.g. is a star. ♪ it was all a dream ♪ >> reporter: with hits like "juicy." ♪ hanging pictures on my wall every saturday rap attack mr. magic molly moll ♪ >> reporter: and "hypnotized." authorities say biggie was sometimes protected by keefe d and his crew of crips, provided security when he was on the west coast. his one-time friend turned

rival, tupac, dead for months. >> he felt like tupac had turned fans against him. at the end of the day, he still had a deep love for tupac, and he felt if something happened to tupac what says i won't be next? >> for the second time in six months, a star in the often brutal world of gangster rap has been gunned down. the notorious b.i.g. was killed in a drive-by shooting in los angeles. >> the genre lost two of its biggest stars in very, very, very violent fashion. >> reporter: death, like life. the similarities persisted. both murders unsolved. many, including some in law enforcement, speculated they could be connected. >> keefe d and the south side crips, his gang associates, were prime suspects. >> reporter: in 2006, greg kating became part of a task force reopening the case of notorious b.i.g.'s murder. >> tupac's case and biggie's case are mired in skepticism and

scandal. >> reporter: kating says he and his team built a task force trying to get him to divulge anything he might know. >> bass in san diego -- >> reporter: facing up to 25 years, kating says keefe spoke to lapd after entering into a proffer agreement. >> somebody who has information about one crime might confess or relay that information. in return, he might get lenient treatment for another crime. >> reporter: what did he tell you? >> we go into questions about biggy small's murder and his response was, "i can't really tell you anything about that, we didn't do that, but i can tell you about another one." we begin to understand that maybe he's involved in the tupac shakur murder. >> you were going -- fitting to blast if you had to or -- >> yeah, if he would have been on my side, i would have blast.

>> okay. you handed the gun to the back seat? >> yes. >> reporter: vegas pd spoke to keefe d unaware, they say, of the proffer agreement. >> huge frustration in las vegas. they felt, if this proffer agreement is real and if the judge goes along with it and if they throw out the confession, then our case collapses. and that was a risk that was too big on such a high-profile murder charge. >> reporter: was there any concern with the investigation that the lapd conducted and how that would conflict with the investigation you guys were doing? >> i'm going to choose not to answer that question. >> i just don't believe a lot of the information being conducted there in l.a. was actually being shared with us. in the manner that we had become accustomed to, would have been ours to prosecute. >> reporter: in response to the comments to abc news, the lapd said they are concerned and announced that they will investigate to better understand if information was withheld. and added, the lapd and las vegas metro have a robust

relationship and look forward to continuing this relationship. >> if we look at the whole thing as a whole, had we not done what we've done, they wouldn't be where they are now. >> reporter: kating retired from lapd in 2010. no arrests have ever been made in biggy's shooting. kating turned in his badge, sharing his story -- >> tupac and suge decided to drive that night -- >> reporter: and a book based on tupac and biggy's deaths. >> this case is legendary, and i want to be the cap that was finally able to solve it. >> reporter: in 2018, keefe d started speaking publicly, too, marking a turning point for vegas police. >> who shot tupac? >> reporter: he appeared in "death row chronicles." >> that reinvigorates the investigation. more and more people provide us with a better description of their recollection on that

night. >> reporter: keefe only continued talking, writing a book and appearing on youtube channels like "the art of dialogue." >> orlando shot tupac and suge. >> reporter: describing himself in the car that fired the fatal shots that fateful night. >> all of these stories are inconsistent. he did it for profit and notoriety. >> reporter: karl arnold represents keefe d. why would keefe go write his book, go appear in these documentaries, do these youtube interviews? is he chasing a bag? >> exactly. he said directly to me, "greg kating is making all this money, irwant to get paid." >> reporter: why take this on? >> this case is a trial lawyer's dream. i don't believe there's any case bigger than this since the simpson case and johnnie coc cochran. >> reporter: arnold argues the case is open and shut because of the lack of physical evidence. >> where's the gun? where's the cat cadillac? where's there any evidence that put "keefe d" davis here?

basically, their whole case right now, from what i've seen, is just keefe's statements. >> reporter: was he the shot-caller in the shooting of tupac? >> no. >> reporter: the police and d.a. are just as confident that keefe's repeated statements serve as a blueprint for their case. >> although there may be some inconsistencies, it doesn't mean when he made these multiple statements admitting his role in the killing, that he wasn't telling the truth. >> we're all finding about keefe d, but we do this in 1996. >> reporter: reggie wright jr. testified to the grand jury that indicted keefe d. the former compton police officer grew up with suge knight and worked for him at the time of tupac's death. suge knight is upholding the street code when law enforcement code is demanding something else. what was going through your head? >> i saw suge on the "nightline" interview. >> if you knew who killed tupac, would you tell the police? >> absolutely -- not.

because you know, i don't -- >> why not? >> because it's not my job. i don't get paid to solve homicides. i don't get paid to tell on people. so my whole thing is, that's authority's job to find out. >> that's when i was like, whoa, wait a minute, that's your friend. that's your little brother. >> if there is a single person to blame for the delay in solving tupac's case, i would put that on suge knight's shoulders. and he knew exactly who shot and killed tupac. >> reporter: what do you think about suge knight in all of this? >> i think that's my star witness. of course i want to have conversation with him. >> reporter: today suge is serving a 28-year prison sentence in california for voluntary manslaughter after a fatal hit-and-run in 2015. keefe d is expected to go on trial in november, which could signal the final chapter

tupac shaaga. who does keefe d say is responsible for tupac's death? >> he doesn't. that's a question everyone's been asking. i don't think it's a question anyone can prove. >> reporter: coming up, what the notorious b.i.g.'s children have to say about tupac's death. hair every time i dried it! only takes a minute. look at that! the heavy duty cloths are extra thick, for amazing trap & lock. even for his hair. wow. and for dust, i love my heavy duty duster. the fluffy fibers trap dust on contact, up high and all around without having to lift a thing. i'm so hooked. you'll love swiffer. or your money back!

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♪ >> reporter: walking into the biggy experience in brooklyn is like taking a time machine back to the golden era of hip-hop. the museum an homage to biggy's life by his own legacy, son c.j. and daughter tiana. >> it's amazing to see all in one mace his career, all his most popular songs, videos. >> reporter: while the murder remains unsolved, his kids say they have all the answers they need. >> personally, i've already sort of came to closure. >> yeah, me too. >> i am happy for the families just now being able to get that closure. obviously tupac and -- there's always going to be love.