On April 11, 2006, Proof was killed by a gunshot wound to the head at the CCC Club by Mario Etheridge on 8 Mile Road in Detroit, Michigan after fatally shooting U.S. military veteran Keith Bender Jr.
It is also believed that following a dispute over a pool game, Proof fired the first shots into Bender's head after taking his pistol and striking Bender several times in the face. According to the coroner, Proof had a blood alcohol content of 0.32. Proof was then shot by the bouncer Mario Etheridge, Bender's cousin. He was then taken by private vehicle to St. John Health's Conner Creek Campus, an outpatient emergency treatment site, and pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
Bender's family began a wrongful-death suit against Proof's estate. During the course of this suit, and in a subsequent magazine article, an alternative description of events emerged.
A XXL article that interviews Mudd (a friend of Proof who allegedly witnessed the shooting) offers an alternative viewpoint to the media reports.
Mudd claims the shooting was done by Mario Etheridge, who initially discharged his weapon into the air to break up a fist fight between Proof and Bender.[citation needed] Proof responded in kind, wrestling Mudd's weapon from him and likewise discharging the weapon into the air.As he fired, Proof was tackled by Bender and the two began to fight on the ground.
Etheridge then fired repeatedly at the pair on the ground, killing them both, Mudd further alleges that the initial testimony of Proof firing first were corroborated by Etheridge's companions to keep him (Etheridge) out of jail.[citation needed] Whether or not this is true is debatable, however this is the testimony that Mudd presented under oath at the wrongful-death suit brought against Proof's estate.
When quizzed as to why he had not brought any of this information to light before the trial, Mudd responded that he feared retaliation.
Proof was buried on April 19 at Woodlawn Cemetery, in Detroit to a full house of 2,000 with thousands mourning outside. Eminem and Obie Trice read eulogies at the service.
Aftermath
The family of Keith Bender, who died several days later, sought legal advice to sue Proof's estate for damages that were a result of Proof's actions.
2. PROOF - Hardcore Metal band from Bucharest,Romania.
3. Nu-metal band from Orokovice, Czech republic.
From Wikipedia:DeShaun Dupree Holton (October 2, 1973 ? April 11, 2006), better known as Proof, was a Detroit African American and Haitian rapper and member of the hip hop groups Goon Sqwad, 5 Elementz, Promatic, and most notably D12. He was a close friend of hip hop superstar Eminem, who achieved worldwide fame selling tens of millions of records and bringing Proof and the rest of D12 to fame. In 2006, Proof was killed in a shooting by multiple bullet wounds.