Dennis Day, one of the original Mouseketeers, was found dead in his home almost a year after his mysterious disappearance. Now an Oregon man has been charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in Day’s death.
Daniel James Burda, 36, was also charged Monday with abuse of a corpse in the second-degree and six counts of aggravated identity theft, according to the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office.
Burda was a handyman and did odd jobs for Day, 76, and his partner of more than 45 years, Ernest Caswell, theAssociated Pressreports.
He entered a not guilty plea at an arraignment Monday afternoon.
Bail has been set at $150,000.
Daniel Burda.Jackson County Sheriff’s Office/AP/Shutterstock
“Ernie was in the hospital at that time, and he realized Dennis hadn’t come to visit him in a few weeks,” Day’s sister, Nelda Adkins, told NBC. “So he had someone from the hospital call the police and report Dennis as missing.”
“[A family member] saw it on the news broadcast and called us immediately,” Adkins said.
Police reportedly told Adkins that a roommate who was living in Day and Caswell’s home said that Day had left on foot the last time he was seen, saying he was going to visit friends.
“Ernie, at the time, was in the hospital, so he wasn’t even at the house,” Adkins added. “Dennis had a car, but the car was left behind. He left his dog and his cat behind, too — he loved them dearly, just like children.”
Police searched Day’s home again with a cadaver dog in April and found his remains, which were positively identified last month.
Help Us Find Dennis Day/Facebook
Disney’sThe Mickey Mouse Clubfirst aired from 1955-1959. The children’s variety show was rebooted in 1977 and then again, most famously, from 1989-1994, when future A-list entertainersBritney Spears,Ryan Gosling,Justin TimberlakeandChristina Aguilerastarred as singing and dancing Mouseketeers.
According to theMail Tribune, Day was a Mouseketeer from 1956-57 and a “long-time entertainer and director for the California Renaissance Pleasure Faires & Dickens Fair.”
His time on the beloved show is now one of the things that his family will hold dear to their hearts.
“As a child, I watched old reruns ofThe Mickey Mouse Club. At the end of the show I would sing along with this song and feel a little sad because it was over… today i’m feeling this sadness deep within,” Day’s niece Denise Woolsey Norriswrote on Facebook.
“I will forever remember my Uncle Dennis with great pride,” she added. “Today I am proud. Proud of the man he was and proud to be his niece.”
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 15.
It was not immediately clear who is representing Burda.
source: people.com
