Tupac Shakur’s godmother and convicted cop killer Assata Shakur – who escaped jail and fled to Cuba in 1979 – has died aged 78.
Shakur, who was born Joanne Deborah Chesimard, passed away Thursday in the capital city of Havana due to ‘health conditions and advanced age,’ Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Shakur’s daughter, Kakuya Shakur, also confirmed her mother’s death in a Facebook post.
She wrote: ‘At approximately 1:15 PM on September 25th, my mother, Assata Shakur, took her last earthly breath.
‘Words cannot describe the depth of loss that I am feeling at this time. I want to thank you for your loving prayers that continue to anchor me in the strength that I need in this moment. My spirit is overflowing in unison with all of you who are grieving with me at this time.
‘Sending much love and appreciation to you all, Kakuya Shakur.’
A member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army, Shakur and two others were involved in a gunfight with New Jersey State Police Troopers following a highway traffic stop on May 2, 1973.
Tupac Shakur’s godmother and convicted killer Assata Shakur – who escaped jail and fled to Cuba – has died aged 78 – pictured 1977
Chesimard-Shakur is the step-aunt and godmother of late rapper Tupac Shakur – pictured 1996
Trooper Werner Foerster was killed and another officer was wounded, while one of Shakur´s companions was also killed.
Shakur, who was at the time wanted on several felonies, including bank robbery, fled but was eventually apprehended.
She maintained in her writings from Cuba over the years that she didn´t shoot anyone and had her hands in the air when she was wounded during the gunfire.
Shakur was found guilty of murder, armed robbery and other crimes in 1977 and was sentenced to life in prison, only to escape in November 1979.
Members of the Black Liberation Army, posing as visitors, stormed the Clinton Correctional Facility for women, took two guards hostage and commandeered a prison van to break Shakur out.
She disappeared before eventually emerging in 1984 in Cuba, where Fidel Castro granted her asylum, according to the FBI.
In 2013, she became the first woman to be added to FBI’s Most Wanted List under the name Joanne Chesimard.
A companion who was also convicted in Foerster’s killing, Sundiata Acoli, was granted parole in 2022. His attorneys had argued the then-octogenarian had been a model prisoner for nearly three decades and counseled other inmates.
Shakur, who was born Joanne Deborah Chesimard, passed away Thursday in the capital city of Havana due to ‘health conditions and advanced age,’ Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
In 2013, she became the first woman to be added to FBI’s Most Wanted List under the name Joanne Chesimard
A photo of a reward poster announcing the $1million federal bounty for the capture of Chesimard is seen
Chesimard-Shakur is the step-aunt and godmother of late rapper Tupac Shakur, who was assassinated in 1996 aged just 25.
Shakur´s case had long been a thorny issue in the fraught relations between the U.S. and Cuba.
American authorities, including President Donald Trump during his first term in office, had demanded her return from the communist nation for decades.
She had claimed she was being pursued for crimes she didn’t commit, or which were justified.
