Michael Sanft, the Las Vegas defense attorney who represented Duane "Keffe D" Davis in the killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, was found dead at his home on Friday morning, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. He was 55. The cause and manner of death have not yet been determined, and police said the death did not appear suspicious.
A friend of Sanft, Michael Sloan, confirmed the death. The coroner's office and police were contacted for comment, and no further details about how Sanft died had been released at the time of reporting.
Sanft's death follows the conclusion of a high-profile case that drew national attention more than a quarter century after Shakur's death. Davis, 63, was convicted of first-degree murder in August. On October 13 he was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison.
Shakur was shot in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996, and died six days later at the age of 25. Prosecutors argued at trial that Davis orchestrated the shooting over a fight. Sanft, who defended Davis, contended that the evidence placing Davis in Las Vegas at the time of the shooting was thin. The jury deliberated for about three hours before returning its verdict.
The verdict drew an emotional reaction from Shakur's sister, Set Shakur, who was present when the decision was read. Her response underscored how much the case meant to the rapper's family, who had waited decades for a resolution to a killing that has long been among the most scrutinized unsolved crimes in American music history.
The defense Sanft mounted was the final stage of a legal fight that played out in a Las Vegas courtroom, where the jury weighed testimony and evidence over several weeks before reaching a unanimous verdict on the first-degree murder charge. The sentence imposed on Davis means he will not be eligible for release for decades, and the outcome closed one of the most closely watched chapters in the long effort to hold someone accountable for the 1996 shooting.
Sanft's death leaves open questions about the legal team's future work on the case, though no such details were included in the available reporting. Further information from the coroner's office and police is expected as the investigation into the cause and manner of death continues.