Man Pleads No Contest In Homicide Of Original Mickey Mouse Club Member Dennis Day

A man charged in the death of Dennis Day, an original cast member on Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club television program, has been sentenced to slightly more than four years in prison.

Original Mouseketeer Dennis Day's Ex-Handyman Arrested In His Death

Daniel Burda, 41, pleaded no contest Monday to charges of criminally negligent homicide and abuse of a corpse. Prosecutors said Burda caused Day’s death and then used his identity to spend money.

Burda was a live-in handyman at Day’s home in Phoenix, OR. The two fell out, and Day 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.

Day’s body wasn’t discovered for nine months but eventually was found beneath a pile of clothes at the home. His condition left the medical examiner unable to determine a cause of death.

His family has since sued the Phoenix Police Department, claiming emotional distress.

Burda’s criminal case was 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.

Two Women Charged With Theft From Mouseketeer Dennis Day

Burda was originally taken into custody on suspicion of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, abuse of a corpse, criminal mistreatment, and identity theft in connection with Day’s death, The Oregonian reported.

He was already in custody on an unrelated robbery case when he was additionally charged in Day’s death.

The arrest came after police picked up two Oregon women in June 2019 on charges related to the theft of several of Day’s personal items.

Wanda Garcia and Lori Declusin faced felony charges for allegedly stealing the former actor’s white 1990s Ford Escort station wagon. Garcia also was accused of selling a brooch that belonged to Day in July 2018, less than a week after he was last seen alive.

Born in 1942, Day began acting at age 6. The former Disney star was 76 when he was first reported missing by his husband, Ernie Caswell.

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