A rising L.A. rapper has been found dead from what police are calling “foul play,” and they are now launching a full investigation into what could have happened.
According to The Los Angeles Times, the body of Sirtanky (real name Javonnta Murphy) was discovered on Monday (July 31) inside of a metal barrel that washed up on the shore of Malibu Lagoon State Beach, California.
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Lt. Hugo Reynaga of the sheriff’s homicide bureau confirmed that the metal barrel first washed up on Malibu’s shores on Sunday (July 30). At the time, the maintenance worker who discovered the barrel didn’t open it, nor did he suspect anything out of the ordinary about it.
The 55-gallon container was subsequently discovered by a lifeguard in the Malibu lagoon on Monday (July 31). When the lifeguard brought it to shore, he opened the container to discover the body of the L.A. rapper. The lifeguard told the outlet that he opened the container because its weight was “suspicious” to him.
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When the barrel was opened, Sirtanky wasn’t in a state of decomposition; so there was some suggestion that the death had been fairly recent. However, the coroner’s office has not confirmed this detail as of this writing.
“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,” Reynaga said to the outlet.
However, the L.A. rapper and singer wasn’t properly identified by the coroner until Thursday (August 3).
Police didn’t share any other details about the state of Murphy’s body, but they have confirmed that the case is an open homicide investigation due to the fact that he was discovered naked inside of the sealed barrel, thus confirming to the police that he died as a result of “foul play.”
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According to detectives, the barrel came from what they believe to be a printing company, and are trying to determine if there is a connection between the printing company and the manner of Sirtanky’s death.
Born in South Central Los Angeles, Sirtanky is survived by his mother and four brothers. His last project, The Chronicles of a Capricorn, was released in January.
