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

Police in Oregon arrested a man Friday in connection with the death of Dennis Day, an original member of Disney’s The Mickey Mouse Club.

Daniel James Burda, 36, was 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.

Burda previously worked as a handyman for Day at his home outside Medford.

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

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

Wanda Garcia and Lori Declusin faced felony charges for stealing Day’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.

Declusin was arrested on Wednesday, June 26. Garcia was nabbed the following day.

Day’s badly decomposed body was found on April 5 at his home, nine months after he turned up missing. Local media reports described the house as “rundown,” and suggested the body could have been overlooked in previous searches.

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.