Michael Sanft, the defense attorney who represented Duane “Keffe D” Davis in the high-profile Tupac Shakur murder case, was found dead at his Las Vegas home on Friday, according to local reports. The Clark County coroner has not yet determined a cause of death, though authorities say there are no immediate signs of foul play.
Death Comes After High-Profile Appeal
Sanft’s passing comes just one week after he filed an appeal for Davis, who was convicted in August of orchestrating the 1996 murder of rap legend Tupac Shakur. The 55-year-old attorney had been a fixture in the Las Vegas legal community, known for his distinctive style β long hair and a signature rosette pinned to his suit lapels.
Michael Sloan, a Clark County District Court marshal and close friend of Sanft, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the attorney was “one of the best human beings I knew.” Sloan, who frequently rode motorcycles with Sanft, described him as one of his closest friends.
A Complex Case and Unusual Defense
Sanft’s final case involved defending Davis, who had publicly boasted about his role in Shakur’s killing multiple times before recanting. The defense took an unusual turn during trial when Sanft openly questioned his own client’s credibility, while also attacking the quality of the police investigation into the three-decade-old cold case.
Despite the adversarial nature of criminal defense work, colleagues on the prosecution side spoke highly of Sanft. Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo, who helped convict Davis, called Sanft “one of the premier defense attorneys in Las Vegas” and noted losing him was both a professional and personal blow.
From Tonga to the Courtroom
Born in Tonga, Sanft grew up in modest conditions β his childhood home lacked electricity and shared a water source with neighboring houses. At age 12, his family moved to San Diego. After serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and attending BYU-Hawaii, Sanft earned his law degree from Brigham Young University in 2002.
A father of two, Sanft had tried approximately 150 jury cases during his legal career according to his professional biography. His sudden death leaves unanswered questions about the pending appeal of one of hip-hop’s most infamous murder convictions β a case that had finally seen closure after nearly 30 years before this latest twist.
Source: www.breitbart.com β https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2026/11/10/lawyer-who-defended-tupac-shakurs-killer-duane-davis-found-dead/