Michael Sanft, the lawyer most well known for defending Duane "Keefe D" Davis in the Tupac murder trial, has been found dead. As reported by KTNV, he died in his Las Vegas home. He was 55 years old.
Details surrounding his death remain limited - neither his cause of death nor whether the situation was being treated as suspicious has been released.
Per VICE, his death was reported to have occurred on November 5, and subsequently confirmed by the Clark County Coroner's Office the next day. The outlet also explained that the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department are reportedly "referring all inquiries about Sanft's death to the coroner's office."
Sanft was born on the Pacific island of Tonga, but grew up in San Diego after immigrating. According to his website, he became a lawyer in order to fulfil a lifelong promise he made to himself when leaving his native country.
"As he watched the green island disappear below, Mike promised himself two things. 1. to always honor the people, place, and culture that raised him... And 2. to seize the opportunity America provided."
His website added that the lawyer previously worked as a dancer at Hawaii's Polynesian Cultural Center.
Videos by Wide Open Country
The Lawyer Worked on High Profile Cases
The lawyer was most well known for his work defending "Keefe D" in the Tupac Shakur murder trial. He defended Keefe pro bono. However, the jury later found him guilty of murder, and he was sentenced.
It has been confirmed that Keefe D had filed an appeal into his conviction, which was filed on October 30. It is unclear how Sanft's passing will affect the case itself.
Following Keefe's conviction, Sanft said in response to being asked if he'd change anything about his defense, "Maybe if I had a psychic sitting next to me to help discern who should be on the jury."
"We had the best team possible in this case," he added. "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."
May he rest in peace.
