Michael Sanft, attorney for defendant in Tupac murder trial has died, friend says

Michael Sanft, the defense attorney who represented Duane "Keffe D" Davis in the Tupac Shakur murder trial, has died, according to sources who spoke with FOX5. Sanft was reported dead Thursday night in Las Vegas. Details surrounding his death are limited, and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Clark County Coroner’s Office have not yet provided additional information.

Sanft was the lead trial attorney at SOS Injury Lawyers, where he tried over 150 cases to jury verdict and argued before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. He represented Davis pro bono during the trial in Las Vegas. A jury found Davis guilty in August. After the verdict, Sanft told FOX5 he would not have done anything differently, saying, "Maybe if I had a psychic sitting next to me to help discern who should be on the jury."

He added, "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." Sanft also described sitting with Davis after the verdict: "We were just sitting there taking in the moment. 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."

Davis’ defense team had planned to appeal the conviction. This is a developing story.

Sources: FOX5 Vegas