Duane “Keefe D” Davis will not take the stand in his own defense in the Tupac Shakur murder trial, leaving jurors to weigh decades of his recorded statements without hearing directly from the man prosecutors accuse of helping orchestrate the rapper’s 1996 killing.

Davis’ attorneys rested their case Thursday after calling just three witnesses, all former Las Vegas police officers. The decision clears the way for closing arguments Monday, followed by jury deliberations in a murder case that has remained unsolved for nearly 30 years.

Whether Davis would testify became one of the biggest remaining questions after prosecutors rested Wednesday. The decision carried particular significance because much of the state’s case has been built around Davis’ own words. Jurors heard previous interviews and statements in which Davis discussed the events surrounding Shakur’s Sept. 7, 1996 shooting near the Las Vegas Strip.

Defense attorney Michael Sanft has argued that Davis exaggerated or fabricated portions of those accounts for notoriety and financial gain. By keeping Davis off the witness stand, however, the defense avoided exposing him to what almost certainly would have been an extensive cross-examination about those statements.

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