Michael Sanft, the lead defense attorney who represented Duane “Keffe D” Davis in the Tupac Shakur murder trial, was found dead Thursday night in Las Vegas. He was 55. The Clark County coroner’s office confirmed the death, though the cause and manner are still pending, and Las Vegas police have referred all questions to the coroner.
Sanft worked the case pro bono and led Davis’s defense through a jury conviction in August. After the verdict, he said his team had done everything it could: “I don’t see what I could’ve done differently.” Just last week, on October 30, Davis’s defense filed a notice of appeal. Attorney Mike Troiano paid tribute to Sanft, calling him “an extremely talented trial lawyer who jurors and his peers loved.” Sanft tried more than 150 cases to verdict over his career.
For Suncoast listeners who’ve followed the Shakur case since the 1990s, the death adds a somber twist and raises questions about how the pending appeal moves forward. Have you been following this case since the beginning? Tell us what you think on our Facebook page.
