Las Vegas attorney Michael Sanft, who defended Duane “Keefe D” Davis in the high-profile Tupac Shakur murder trial, was found dead at his home. He was 55.
The Clark County Coroner’s Office confirmed Sanft’s death on Friday, November 6, 2026. His body was discovered at his Las Vegas residence. The official cause and manner of death remain pending. A police spokesperson said the circumstances did not appear suspicious.
Sanft took on Davis’s case pro bono after the previous attorney withdrew shortly before trial. A jury convicted Davis of first-degree murder in August 2026 for his role in the 1996 drive-by shooting that killed Tupac Shakur. In October, Davis received a sentence of 40 years to life. Sanft filed a notice of appeal on October 30.
During the proceedings, Sanft challenged the quality of the investigation and questioned the reliability of Davis’s earlier statements about the case. He told media after the verdict that the defense team had done everything possible under the circumstances and that he planned to appeal.
Born in 1971 in Haveluloto, Tonga, Sanft grew up in a home without electricity that shared a water faucet with neighbors. His family moved to San Diego when he was 12. He later served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, attended Brigham Young University–Hawaii, and earned his law degree from BYU’s J. Reuben Clark Law School in 2001. Admitted to the Nevada bar in 2002, he built a long career as a trial lawyer, serving as lead trial attorney at SOS Injury Lawyers. His professional record included more than 150 jury verdicts and arguments before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Known for his long hair and a distinctive rosette pin on his suit lapel, Sanft often asked potential jurors about their favorite movies. Friends and colleagues remembered him as charismatic and gifted in the courtroom. Michael Sloan, a Clark County District Court marshal and motorcycle companion, said,
“He was one of my best friends and one of the best human beings I knew.”
Prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo, who worked the Davis case, called him “one of the premier defense attorneys in Las Vegas” and a friend.
Sanft also represented former Las Vegas councilwoman Michele Fiore in her 2024 federal wire fraud case. She was convicted; he later withdrew. Fiore was later pardoned by President Donald Trump.
His death raises practical questions about who will handle Davis’s pending appeal. The appeal does not disappear with the attorney’s death, and the conviction stands. New counsel will need to step in for further proceedings.
Coverage continues as the coroner’s investigation proceeds. Sanft leaves behind two children. The legal community in Las Vegas is mourning a respected trial lawyer whose most visible case connected him to one of hip-hop’s longest-running mysteries.
