Police on Tuesday identified the man found dead in a barrel at Malibu Lagoon State Beach as 32-year-old Jovannta Murphy and opened a homicide investigation.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said lifeguards tried to bring the barrel to shore Monday, but struggled to move the heavy object.

They opened the 55-gallon drum to find the naked victim, Murphy, inside.

“From what I did see it didn’t look to me like it was decomposed or had been there a long time,” Lt. Hugo Reynaga said at a press conference.

Beach maintenance workers first spotted the barrel Sunday afternoon and towed it closer to shore by kayak, according to police, but the barrel was too heavy and was left in the water.

“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,” Lt. Reynaga said.

Police have not released a cause of death.

The Washington Times contacted the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office for more information.

• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.