Los Angeles cops are trying to determine whether the death of aspiring rapper Javonnta Murphy was in retaliation for the 2020 murder of rapper Pop Smoke.
Murphy’s naked body was found stuffed inside a barrel at Malibu Lagoon State Beach on July 31.
The LA County medical examiner identified the body as the 32-year-old rapper, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Murphy was shot once in the head. The coroner didn’t say how long his body had been in the barrel.
Police are trying to determine if Murphy’s murder was in retaliation for the shooting death of Brooklyn rapper Pop Smoke, TMZ reported.
Pop Smoke, real name Bashar Jackson, was killed during a house party in Hollywood Hills, CA. on Feb. 19, 2020.
On July 9, 2020, three adult males and two minors were arrested for Pop Smoke’s murder.
Murphy’s older brother, Jaquan Murphy was among the suspects charged in Pop Smoke’s death. Jaquan was later released when police dropped the charges against him.
However, Jaquan is currently awaiting trial for an unrelated murder in Los Angeles County, TMZ reported.
Former Malibu Mayor Jefferson Wagner said he saw the barrel on the beach on Sunday, but he thought it was toxic waste.
“This is not what happens in Malibu,” Wagner told The Times. “This is not a common occurrence. I mean, bodies in a barrel is just sad.”
