The lawyer who represented Duane Keith “Keffe D” Davis in his trial for Tupac Shakur’s murder has died.
Michael Sanft was found dead in Las Vegas at the age of 55 on Friday, Nov. 6, a spokesperson for Clark County Office of the Coroner confirmed to USA TODAY Friday, Nov. 6. His cause of death is pending, and no further details have been released.
USA TODAY reached out to Sanft’s law firm for comment.
Sanft was a prominent attorney in Nevada widely recognised for his recent defence of Davis, who was found guilty of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon in August for facilitating the fatal 1996 shooting of Shakur.
What did Michael Sanft say about the Tupac murder trial?
In October, Davis, 63, was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison, making him the first and only person to be charged in the 30-year-old case. At the time, Sanft expressed his intention to appeal the conviction, and court records obtained by USA TODAY show he filed a notice of appeal on Oct. 30.
After the sentencing, Sanft spoke to local outlet FOX5 about the outcome of the legal battle.
“We had the best team possible in this case, from the motion practice work on this appeal to our investigator to our firm here at SOS Injury. We all did our part. I don’t see what I could’ve done differently,” he said, adding that he and Davis discussed their next moves.
“He had reminded me this is phase one. Because I was upset with the verdict, I was very disappointed in the jury. Mr. Davis was the one who said, ‘Don’t worry about it, man, this is the first phase,’ and I said, ‘I understand, I hate to lose,'” Sanft told the outlet.
Who was Michael Sanft?
Sanft grew up on the island of Tongo and moved with his family to San Diego, California, when he was 12, according to his biography on the official website for his law firm, SOS Injury Lawyers. He later served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and attended BYU-Hawaii, where he danced at the Polynesian Cultural Centre.
He then decided to pursue law, which his bio says was “the next logical step in his journey” given his “relentless work ethic, natural ability to connect with people, and desire to help society’s most vulnerable individuals.” The site describes him as “one of the most respected and effective trial attorneys in America,” with decades of experience trying more than 150 cases.
At the time of his death, Sanft served as SOS Injury Lawyers’ lead trial attorney.
