• [The Mirror Icon]
• Entertainment
• Celebrity News
• Tupac Shakur

Tupac murder trial sees family flee the courtroom as autopsy photos of slain rapper are presented

Several of Tupac Shakur's family members stepped out of the courtroom of the rapper's murder trial on Tuesday before prosecutors showed photos of his autopsy

[Tupac Shakur]

View 3 Images

Some of Tupac Shakur's family members stepped out of the courtroom of his murder trial on Tuesday(Image: Getty Images)

Some of Tupac Shakur's family members stepped out of the courtroom of the rapper's murder trial on Tuesday before prosecutors showed photos of his autopsy.

Nearly 30 years after the rap legend was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, in September 1996, on trial is Duane "Keffe" Davis, 63, who is a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips.

While Davis is not accused of firing the shots that killed Shakur, prosecutors allege that he orchestrated the plan of the drive-by shooting that led to Shakurs death. This comes after Tupac's harrowing six final words were revealed by the former cop who was called to the shooting.

Davis could face life in prison if hes convicted of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. He has pleaded not guilty and has denied the allegations.

Shakur was 25 when he died in the hospital on Sept. 13, 1996, six days after being shot multiple times in a drive-by shooting.

On Tuesday, the court was shown pictures of Tupacs body from his autopsy. Some of Shakurs family members stepped out of the Las Vegas, Nevada, courtroom as the autopsy was shown, while others remained in the room.

[Lisa Gavin]

View 3 Images

Dr. Lisa Gavin, a forensic pathologist and medical examiner, was called to testify as an expert witness(Image: John Locher/Pool AP via AP)

Dr. Lisa Gavin, a forensic pathologist and medical examiner for Clark County, Nevada, was one of the witnesses who was called to testify. While Gavin wasnt present at Shakurs autopsy, as the examiner from 1996 has since passed, she was called to testify to give her professional opinion on Shakurs autopsy photos.

At the beginning of her questioning, jurors were shown a picture of a green body bag, followed by photos of Shakurs body. Gavin testified about how the bullets entered Shakurs chest and abdomen, which led to his death.

According to the Associated Press, some of Shakurs relatives who chose to remain seated in the courtroom looked away, and one woman left the room when the photos of his body were shown.

Shakur's cousin, Zayd Akinyela, told AP that he wanted to stay inside the courtroom to learn the facts for his personal closure.

[Tupac Shakur]

View 3 Images

Some of Tupac Shakur's family members looked away when his autopsy photos were shown (Image: Getty Images)

"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," Akinyela told AP. A lot of people don't get to grieve until they understand what happened to their loved one and how it happened. That's why I wanted to stay and just see for my own personal closure.

Gavin described three bullets that entered Shakurs body in her testimony, detailing that one traveled through his chest, including through a lung. She said that that caused his lung to collapse and bleed.

Doctors made a life-saving effort to remove the damaged lung, she noted, adding that additional bullets had damaged his intestines and other body parts. Prosecutors described Shakur's body as appearing "skinny" when he was alive, but "bloated" when he died, and Gavin said that physical appearance was due to expanded tissue, as reported by the Daily Mail.

The autopsy images werent shown to the public in the video feed from the trial.

[The Mirror Icon]

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Choose The Mirror US as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.