Body Found in Floating Barrel in Malibu Beach Finally Identified — He Was a Singer-Songwriter

• Malibu beachgoers were left traumatized after a body was found in a barrel.
• The body was identified as that of an aspiring musician described as "lovable."

While enjoying a day at the Malibu Lagoon State Beach on July 31, 2023, people noticed a suspicious 55-gallon barrel floating in the water. Lifeguards responded to the discovery by pulling the plastic barrel to the shore and calling the police.

The California beach's lifeguards didn't open the barrel, as they anticipated it might hold hazardous material. When the barrel was opened, the contents stunned law enforcement officials. One officer, not present at the scene, noted he had never seen anything like it.

Inside was a black man's body that left beachgoers "shocked," and a witness described the finding as "pretty ghoulish." The case is being investigated as a homicide by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau.

His dream was to become a successful singer, and he was a father to a son.

Authorities closed the beach and roped the area off. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner has already determined the person's identity. The victim's last-known whereabouts have been revealed, but the cause of death hasn't been released yet.

Whose Body Was in the Barrel at the Beach?

The man in the barrel was identified as Javonnta Murphy, 32, from Sylmar. A family friend, Patrick Nelson, who dated his mother and saw himself as his stepfather, said Murphy and his four brothers—two older and the other younger—grew up in South Los Angeles.

Nelson said the late man's grandmother was the family anchor, and when she died, Murphy lived on his own in Sylmar. The family friend revealed that he was pursuing a musical career as a rapper, with his Instagram account describing him as a "singer/songwriter" from Los Angeles.

The distraught man shared how his son didn't have issues with anyone and was "lovable."

His dream was to become a successful singer, and he was a father to a son. Nelson recalled how Murphy would run or lift weights in his spare time and was a "good kid" who wasn't into gangs, noting:

"What happened to him, I just don't understand."

Murphy's birth father, Javonnie Murphy, shared how he last saw him alive on July 27, 2023, while at a park together. The dad recalled how he made a barbeque while his son played basketball, and the aspiring musician left "in good spirits."

The aspiring rapper went to get changed and was meant to return to the park to share a meal with his father. However, that was the last time his dad saw him. He never heard from his son again until he saw the news about a barrel on the beach.

The day after the discovery, Murphy's dad received a call informing him that the body in the barrel was his son's. The aspiring artist's father didn't take the news well, and he lamented:

"They were trying to get rid of him. They put him in a thing like that and threw him in the ocean."

The distraught man shared how his son didn't have issues with anyone and was "lovable." Even as a child, Murphy didn't get into trouble and talked to his siblings, guiding them and setting an excellent example.

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