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Who was Javonnta Murphy? Man found in barrel at Malibu Lagoon identified as aspiring rap artist

Murphy was found stuffed in a 55-gallon drum, which was spotted floating along the coast near the 23200 block of Pacific Coast Highway on July 30

MALIBU, CALIFORNIA: The man, whose body was found stuffed in a sealed barrel at Malibu Lagoon State Beach on July 31, has been identified as a 32-year-old local singer-songwriter and rap artist. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner identified the man as Javonnta Murphy but provided no information regarding the cause or manner of his death.

Murphy was found stuffed in a 55-gallon drum, which was spotted by a sanitation worker floating along the coast near the 23200 block of Pacific Coast Highway on July 30. The worker tried to drag it back to the shore but they failed due to the heavy weight. The next morning, a lifeguard noticed the barrel and swam to retrieve it. The lifeguard reportedly opened the sealed drum due to its suspicious weight. An insider familiar with the investigation told Los Angeles Times that the death was probably a case of foul play because the barrel was shut and sealed and the man inside was completely naked. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department homicide detectives are investigating his death and believe that the high tide may have carried the barrel into Malibu Lagoon from the ocean.

Who was Javonta Murphy?

Murphy was a 32-year-old Sylmar man, whose social media pages indicated that he was a local singer-songwriter and hip-hop artist. He often shared videos of himself singing and grooving out to his own music in his car. He grew up in South Los Angeles with his four brothers — two older and two younger, according to Patrick Nelson, 46, a family friend who dated Murphy’s mother and considered himself a stepfather of sorts to Murphy. Nelson told LA Times that after his grandmother’s death, Murphy moved to his own apartment in Sylmar. He also revealed that the aspiring rap artist was himself a father to a young son.

Murphy’s biological father, Javonnie Murphy, also paid him a tribute, saying, “I’m a strong Black man, but this, this is hurtful. I just want to know why. He didn’t deserve it.” He told NBC that he last saw Murphy on Thursday when they were spending quality time in a park. He was making barbeque while his son was playing basketball. The grieving father remembered that his son left “in good spirits” to go get changed and was supposed to return to the park to eat. But tragically, the father never heard from his son again. Javonnie said he was left devastated when he got a call telling him that Murphy was found stuffed in the barrel.

'It just broke the whole family down'

“They were trying to get rid of him. They put him in a thing like that and threw him in the ocean. They were trying to get rid of him,” Javonnie said. He added that his son didn’t have any problems with anyone. Growing up, he never got into trouble, and he talked to his siblings to give them guidance and set a good example. “It just broke the whole family down. We are all hurting right now. We’re all hurting, and we want justice,” Javonnie expressed. The devastated father hopes that the coming days will bring answers and justice for his son. "The only thing I can say is you have got to answer to the man upstairs. You have got to answer to Him upstairs,” he said.