Attorney who represented Tupac Shakur’s killer is found dead aged 55 just days after filing an appeal
The attorney who represented Tupac Shakur’s killer has been found dead at 55 only days after appealing his conviction.
Las Vegas lawyer Michael Sanft, who defended Tupac’s convicted killer Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis in the high-profile murder case, was discovered dead at his home on Friday morning.
Sanft died as Davis, 63, planned to appeal his conviction with a notice of the appeal having been filed on Friday, October 30, according to FOX5.
Davis was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison on October 13 after being found guilty of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon for his role in the 1996 killing of Shakur.
He was charged after giving interviews and publishing a 2019 memoir describing his role in the shooting. Davis is the only person who has ever been charged in the rap icon’s death.
‘I don’t see what I could’ve done differently,’ Sanft previously said about the case, which he took pro-bono.
The Clark County Coroner’s office said a cause and manner of death for Sanft was pending, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
A police spokesperson added that his death did not appear suspicious, according to the outlet.
Las Vegas lawyer Michael Sanft, who defended Tupac’s convicted killer Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis, has died at 55
Sanft (left) died as Davis, 63, planned to appeal his conviction. He had been sentenced to 40 years-to-life in prison on October 13
Sanft recalled sitting down with Davis after the verdict, describing himself as ‘very disappointed in the jury.’
‘He had reminded me this is phase one,’ Sanft said, according to FOX5.
‘Mr. Davis was the one who said, “Don’t worry about it, man,”’ Sanft recalled. ‘And I said, “I understand, I hate to lose.”’
Shakur was in the passenger seat of a black BMW with music mogul Marion ‘Suge’ Knight on the night of September 7, 1996, in Vegas, when a white Cadillac pulled up at a red light.
Shots broke out and Shakur was hit multiple times. He died six days later.
Davis said in his memoir that he was seeking revenge for Shakur and his entourage beating up his nephew, Orlando Anderson, hours before the shooting.
He said he was in the passenger seat of the Cadillac and passed the gun to the backseat, where shots were fired.
Davis had spoken to detectives years earlier but avoided prosecution thanks to an agreement he made with authorities.
Prosecutors relied on Davis’ own statements during the weeks-long trial. After nine days of testimony in August, the jury deliberated for three hours and found him guilty.
A cause of death for Sanft, pictured with Davis in Clark County District Court, has not been revealed as of Saturday morning
Sanft argued during the trial that Davis’s confessions were lies and that the prosecution’s allegations were based on those.
This is a breaking news story. More to come…
