Gambiaj.com – (LAS VEGAS, UNITED STATES) – Michael Sanft, the Las Vegas defense attorney who represented Duane “Keffe D” Davis in the murder trial over the 1996 killing of rap icon Tupac Shakur, has been found dead at his home, according to multiple US media reports.
Sanft, reported to be 54 or 55, was found inside his Las Vegas home on Friday, November 6. Police said his death did not appear suspicious, although the cause of death had not been officially released.
His death comes just days after an appeal was filed challenging Davis’s murder conviction. The notice of appeal, according to court records cited by FOX5, was submitted on October 30.
Sanft represented Davis without payment in the high-profile case, in which a Clark County jury found his client guilty of first-degree murder for his role in Shakur’s killing. Davis was subsequently sentenced to 40 years to life in prison.
A High-Profile Murder Trial
Davis remains the only person ever charged in connection with Shakur’s September 1996 killing in Las Vegas, which remained unsolved for decades.
During the trial, Sanft led the defense team and challenged the prosecution’s case against Davis. Reflecting on the jury selection process, he told FOX5 that it might have taken “a psychic sitting next to me” to make a different selection, adding that he could not identify what he might have done differently.
Despite the conviction, the appeal filed last week opens another chapter in the lengthy legal proceedings surrounding Shakur’s death.
However, with Sanft now reported dead, it remains unclear who will take over Davis’s representation during the appeal. No replacement attorney or briefing schedule had been announced in the reports available on Friday.
A Career in Criminal and Civil Litigation
Sanft was the lead trial attorney at SOS Injury Lawyers, a Las Vegas-based personal injury firm. According to his professional biography, he had tried more than 150 cases to jury verdict.
Born and raised in Tonga before moving to San Diego at the age of 12, Sanft attended BYU-Hawaii and later earned his law degree from Brigham Young University. He had been licensed to practise law in Nevada since 2002.
Beyond the Tupac murder case, he also represented former Las Vegas city councillor Michele Fiore in a 2024 federal wire fraud and conspiracy trial. Fiore was convicted, and Sanft subsequently withdrew from the case. She was later pardoned by US President Donald Trump.
As of Friday, authorities had not publicly confirmed the circumstances surrounding Sanft’s death. Las Vegas police referred media enquiries to the Clark County Coroner’s Office, while several news organizations said they had not received an official response.
The timing of his death, shortly after the filing of Davis’s appeal, has drawn attention to the uncertainty surrounding the next stage of the case.
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