Prominent Las Vegas defence lawyer Michael Sanft, who represented Duane “Keffe D” Davis in the case over the 1996 killing of American rapper Tupac Shakur, has been found dead at his residence.
Sanft, 55, was reportedly discovered at his home on Friday, November 6. Authorities said the circumstances surrounding his death were not considered suspicious, but the cause and manner of death had yet to be determined.
His death occurred barely a week after he filed an appeal seeking to overturn Davis’s conviction for the murder of Shakur, whose killing remained unresolved for more than two decades.
Davis, 63, was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison on October 13 after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon. He was the first person to be charged in connection with the rapper’s death.
Shakur was shot in a drive-by attack in Las Vegas in September 1996 while travelling in a car with Death Row Records founder Suge Knight. The rapper died six days later at the age of 25.
Prosecutors alleged that Davis helped orchestrate the attack after his nephew, Orlando Anderson, was involved in a confrontation with Shakur at a Las Vegas hotel earlier that day.
Anderson was identified as the suspected gunman but died in a separate shooting in 1998. The case remained unsolved for years, partly amid difficulties investigators faced in obtaining cooperation from witnesses.
Davis was arrested in 2023 after making public statements about the shooting in interviews, a documentary and his memoir. Prosecutors relied on those accounts during the trial, arguing that they linked him to the attack.
However, Sanft challenged the reliability of Davis’s statements and maintained that they did not establish his guilt. Davis also continued to deny responsibility for the killing.
Sanft represented Davis without charge in the high-profile trial, which attracted widespread attention because of Shakur’s enduring influence in music and the long-running mystery surrounding his death.
Following the conviction, the lawyer indicated that the legal fight was not over. He filed a notice of appeal on October 30, seeking to have the verdict overturned.
The appeal was expected to challenge aspects of the case and the evidence relied upon by prosecutors. Sanft’s death has now come as Davis’s legal challenge is set to proceed.
Nevada prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo paid tribute to the late attorney, describing him as a leading defence lawyer and a friend.
Sanft is survived by two children.
Authorities have not announced a cause of death, and further details surrounding the circumstances of his passing remain unavailable.
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