Man found in barrel at Malibu Lagoon was aspiring L.A. recording artist
The man whose body was found inside a barrel at Malibu Lagoon State Beach on Monday has been identified as a 32-year-old Sylmar man who was pursuing a career in music, according to authorities and a family friend.
The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner identified the man as Javonnta Murphy but divulged no details about the cause and manner of death, which is being investigated by Los Angeles County sheriff’s homicide detectives.
Murphy grew up in South Los Angeles with his four brothers — two older and two younger, said Patrick Nelson, 46, a family friend who dated Murphy's mother and considered himself a stepfather of sorts to Murphy.
After the death of Murphy's grandmother, who anchored their family, Murphy moved into an apartment of his own in Sylmar, Nelson said. He was pursuing a career in rapping and dreamed of becoming a successful artist, Nelson said.
Murphy spent his free time lifting weights and running, Nelson said, and was father to a young son.
"He was a good kid, good person. He didn't gang-bang. What happened to him, I just don't understand," Nelson said.
Lt. Hugo Reynaga of the sheriff’s homicide bureau said the 55-gallon drum was first spotted Sunday by a maintenance worker, who paddled out in a kayak and pulled it to the sandy shore of the Malibu lagoon. The maintenance worker didn’t open the container.
About 10 a.m. Monday, a lifeguard saw the same barrel — now back in the lagoon — and swam out and brought it onto the beach, where he opened it and discovered the body, Reynaga said.
A source familiar with the investigation who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly said the barrel was opened because of its suspicious weight. Because the barrel was sealed and the man inside it was naked, the death is likely a case of foul play, the source said.
It wasn't clear how long the body had been inside the barrel, Reynaga said Monday, but the body did not appear to be decomposed.
Detectives were still trying to determine the origin of the barrel, which contained markings that suggested it came from a printing company, Reynaga said.
The drum may have been carried into the lagoon by a tide, Reynaga said, noting, “At about 8 p.m., there’s a high tide here, and there’s a possibility that the container could have come in from the ocean and then got stuck in the lagoon — but we don’t know.”
Murphy had a limited criminal history: a pair of arrests in 2017 for battery, domestic violence and failing to appear in court, all misdemeanors, that were resolved with a plea deal that called for 45 days in jail, three years of probation and court-ordered domestic abuse classes, court records show. After violating a protective order in that case, he was sentenced to three days in jail in 2018.
At the time of those arrests, Murphy reported working for a staffing agency and living in a second-floor unit in an apartment complex in Sylmar. A man who answered the apartment's door Wednesday said he did not know Murphy.
Read more: Malibu lifeguard cracks open suspiciously heavy barrel, finds a body
Nelson, his family friend, said he did not know Murphy to frequent the Malibu area. When Murphy's mother told him her son was the person he'd seen on the news washed ashore in a barrel, Nelson couldn't believe it.
He wondered if Murphy had any enemies, but he couldn't think of anyone who would do this to someone he still considers an ambitious kid with dreams of stardom.
"It's sad how life goes," Nelson said. "Whatever happened to him, whoever did it, I wish they could have solved it in a different way — different than that way."
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
