Dennis Day’s Handyman Sentenced in Death and Corpse Abuse CaseDennis Day’s Handyman Sentenced in Death and Corpse Abuse Case Daniel Burda, 41, has been sentenced to over four years in prison for his involvement in the death of Dennis Day, an original cast member on “The Mickey Mouse Club.” Burda entered a modified guilty plea to charges of criminally negligent homicide and abuse of a corpse. As a live-in handyman at Day’s home, he allegedly caused Day’s death in mid-2018. Burda then used Day’s identity to make illegal purchases. Day’s body was not discovered for nine months, concealed under a pile of clothes in his home. Prosecutors believe Burda disposed of the body to avoid detection. Day’s family has filed a lawsuit against the Phoenix Police Department for failing to locate his body earlier, despite visiting the home multiple times. The lawsuit alleges that the delay prevented medical examiners from determining a cause of death. Meanwhile, Burda’s criminal case faced delays due to evaluations of his mental fitness. He has faced additional charges while out of custody and has received a two-year sentence in a burglary case running concurrently with his current sentence. In total, Burda faces just over six years in prison for his actions in Day’s death and related incidents.
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — A man charged in the death of Dennis Day, an original cast member on Walt Disney’s “Mickey Mouse Club” television program in the 1950s, has been sentenced to just over four years in prison after entering a modified guilty plea this week .
Daniel Burda, 41, pleaded no contest Monday to charges of criminally negligent homicide and abuse of a corpse. Burda was a live-in handyman at Day’s home in Phoenix, Oregon, but Day, 76, had been trying to evict him around the time he disappeared in mid-2018. A no-contest plea is a concession that the state can prove criminal charges at trial and carries the same legal effect as a guilty plea.
Prosecutors said Burda caused Day’s death and then used Day’s identity to spend money.
Day’s badly decomposed body wasn’t discovered for nine months, beneath a pile of clothes at the house. His family has sued the Phoenix Police Department, saying its failure to discover his remains in his own home for so long — despite having been to the home multiple times — caused emotional distress.
During a search, police stepped on Day’s body, causing fractures to the corpse, but they still didn’t find it until April 2019, when Oregon State Police came with a cadaver-sniffing dog, the lawsuit said. The delay prevented the medical examiner from being able to determine a cause of death, it said.
The police department has denied the allegations. A trial is set for October in Jackson County Circuit Court.
Burda’s criminal case was long delayed by trips to the Oregon State Hospital to determine his mental fitness to assist in his own defense as well as other legal challenges. He faced several other charges while out of custody, court records show, and he has also recently been sentenced to two years to be served separately in a burglary case — meaning he faces just over six years in all.
