Michael Sanft, the defense attorney who represented Duane “Keffe D” Davis in the Tupac Shakur murder trial, has died at 55.
As per Fox5, the Clark County Coroner’s Office confirmed his death to FOX Local, and the cause of death is still pending. A coroner’s office spokesperson said Sanft was confirmed dead on Friday, November 6.
As per reports, he died on Thursday night in Las Vegas and more details about his passing are limited.
His role in Tupac case
According to Billboard, Sanft formed a defense team and took on Davis’ case pro bono, meaning he did not charge a fee. He was the lead trial attorney at Las Vegas-based SOS Injury Lawyers, where he had handled more than 150 cases.
Davis was found guilty of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon in August 2026 for his role in Tupac Shakur’s killing. The rapper was 25 when he was shot in a drive-by attack in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996, after attending a Mike Tyson fight. Davis was the only person charged in connection with the murder.
{{/usCountry}}Davis was found guilty of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon in August 2026 for his role in Tupac Shakur’s killing. The rapper was 25 when he was shot in a drive-by attack in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996, after attending a Mike Tyson fight. Davis was the only person charged in connection with the murder.
{{/usCountry}}Davis, 63, was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison in October.
During the sentencing, Judge Carli Kierny told him: “It took us 30 years, but at this time you are going to face justice for what you did on September 7, 1996.”
As per USA Today, Sanft planned to appeal Davis’ conviction for Tupac Shakur’s murder. Court records show that he filed a notice of appeal on October 30, 2026.
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What Sanft said after the verdict
After the trial, Sanft spoke to FOX5 Las Vegas and said he had no regrets about how he handled the case. “Maybe if I had a psychic sitting next to me to help discern who should be on the jury,” he said.
“We had the best team possible in this case, 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,” he told FOX5.
Sanft also said he and Davis had discussed their next steps after the verdict. He told FOX5 that Davis had encouraged him to see the case as only the first phase of the legal fight.
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“He had reminded me this is phase one. Because I was upset with the verdict, I was very disappointed in the jury. Mr. Davis was the one who said, ‘Don’t worry about it, man, this is the first phase,’ and I said, ‘I understand, I hate to lose,’” he said.
According to his biography on his law firm’s website, Sanft grew up on the island of Tongo and moved to San Diego, California, with his family when he was 12. He later served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and attended BYU-Hawaii, where he danced at the Polynesian Cultural Center.