Body of man found in barrel on Malibu beach may be tied to 2020 murder of rapper Pop Smoke

Javonnta Murphy, 32, was found inside a 55-gallon barrel floating in water near the Pacific Coast Highway

The body of a man found dead in a barrel on a Malibu beach may be connected to the 2020 murder of rapper Pop Smoke, according to reports.

Authorities say that victim Javonnta Murphy, 32, was found inside a 55-gallon barrel floating in the water near the Pacific Coast Highway on 31 July.

Murphy’s brother, Jaquan Murphy, 24, was one of five suspects arrested in connection with the rapper’s fatal shooting during a home invasion in the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles.

File - Pop Smoke on stage in November 2019 (AFP via Getty Images)

Mr Murphy was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder but was later cleared of all charges, according to TMZ.com.

Now investigators are looking into the murder of Javonnta Murphy to see if there is any connection with the Pop Smoke killing, reported the outlet.

The hip-hop star, whose legal name was Bashar Barakah Jackson, died in February 2020 after being targeted by a group of robbers after he posted the location of his Airbnb online.

Officials say that Jackson had posted pictures of the home’s garden and infinity pool, as well as a gift bag containing the property’s address.

He had been on a four-day trip to California from New York when he was killed.

Investigators say that the gang arrived at the home at around 4am, and confronted the rapper in a shower where a 15-year-old boy pistol-whipped him and shot him three times in the back.

File - In this Feb. 19, 2020, aerial image taken from video provided by Fox11 News KTTV-TV shows the Hollywood Hills home where rapper Pop Smoke was fatally shot (Fox11 News KTTV-TV)

He later died at the hospital while the gang fled the home with a Rolex watch that they later sold for $2,000.

Three of the suspects were identified at the time by LAPD as Jaquan Murphy, 21, Corey Walker, 19, and Keandre D Rodgers, 18, all from Los Angeles.

The two other suspects were identified as a 15-year-old male and a 17-year-old male, but not named because they were juveniles. In July 2020, Mr Murphy was cleared while the other four suspects were charged in connection to the killing.

In April 2023, a 20-year-old pleaded guilty in juvenile court to voluntary manslaughter and home invasion robbery.

He was sentenced to four years and two months in the Secure Youth Treatment Facility but a judge told him he could stay behind bars until he was 25.