MALIBU—On Saturday, August 5, the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Department confirmed the cause of death of the man a lifeguard found inside of a 55-gallon drum in a lagoon on July 31 was a gunshot wound to the head.
The victim has been identified as 32-year-old, aspiring rapper, Javonnta Rashann Murphy. According to a report by Deputy Medical Examiner, Robyn Parks, and categorized the death as a homicide.
TMZ first reported Murphy is the brother of Jaquan Murphy, who is one of five individuals arrested in connection to the 2020 murder of rapper Pop Smoke.
Javonnta played in the bands Tank and Booq. According to reports, Javonnta is from South Los Angeles, where he was raised by his mother, and with four brothers. His father, Javonnie told Los Angeles News that he was “looking for answers,” and “I want to know what happened to my baby.”
Murphy leaves behind a 10-year-old son, named Marley with his girlfriend, Venetta Smith.
“My dad, he loved me very much. He would always play music in his car with me and joke around with me. He always talked about how he loved his family,” Marley told ABC 7 News. “I’m still trying to process who could do this, more than anything because this seems personal. This seems like a vendetta.”
The family of Javonnta Rashann Murphy set up a GoFundMe page.
Canyon News spoke to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office, Public Information Officer, Kelly, who stated “the case is still open.”
