Phoenix man accused of Mouseketeer negligent homicide arrested on new charges

Published 9:45 am Thursday, February 15, 2024

A Phoenix man accused of killing a former Disney “Mouseketeer” in 2018 was arrested Wednesday on new criminal charges.

Daniel James Burda, 41, was arrested by Phoenix police on charges of second-degree disorderly conduct, second-degree criminal trespass, third-degree theft and harassment. Burda was lodged in the Jackson County Jail and released on his own recognizance. 

In 2019, Burda pleaded not guilty to over a dozen criminal charges, including criminally negligent homicide and second-degree manslaughter, in connection to the death Dennis Day, 76, on July 15, 2018.

Day and his partner, who preceded Day in death, had hired Burda to work as a handyman on their Pine Street property.

As a child, Day was a Mouseketeer on the first two seasons of Walt Disney’s “Mickey Mouse Club” TV show.

Day, who is represented by Christine Hebert in the “Mouseketeer” case, is scheduled to go to trial July 15.

Since Burda was arrested in connection to Day’s death, Burda has faced criminal charges in six other cases, including a felony count of first-degree criminal mischief in 2022 that he pleaded guilty to and was ordered to two years of probation.

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