A man involved in the death of Dennis Day, an original member of the “Mickey Mouse Club,” has received a sentence of slightly more than four years in prison after submitting a modified guilty plea. Daniel Burda, 41, entered a plea of no contest on Monday to charges of criminally negligent homicide and abuse of a corpse. Burda, who was living in Day’s home in Phoenix, Oregon, at the time, had been facing eviction by Day, who was 76 when he went missing in mid-2018. The no-contest plea implies an acknowledgment that the state can prove criminal charges in court and has the same legal consequences as a guilty plea.
Prosecutors alleged that Burda was responsible for Day’s death and utilized Day’s identity to make unauthorized purchases. Day’s badly decomposed remains were found nine months later under a pile of clothes in the residence. Day’s family sued the Phoenix Police Department for failing to discover his body in his own home, despite multiple visits, causing them emotional distress.
According to the lawsuit, during a search, police unknowingly stepped on Day’s body, resulting in fractures, but it wasn’t until April 2019, when Oregon State Police brought in a cadaver-sniffing dog, that the body was ultimately found. The delay hindered the medical examiner’s ability to establish a cause of death. The police department refuted the claims, and a trial is scheduled for October in Jackson County Circuit Court.
Burda’s criminal case was significantly delayed due to evaluations of his mental fitness to partake in his defense, as well as other legal obstacles. Court records indicate that Burda faced additional charges while not in custody and has also been sentenced to two years in a separate burglary case. Consequently, he is set to serve slightly over six years in total.
