Chula Vista police on Wednesday confirmed one part of the mystery surrounding the body found in a drum floating in the San Diego Bay in October.
According to police, 28-year-old Omar Medina is the man who met that tragic end. His body was found after a diver discovered a white, 55-gallon drum floating near the surface of the bay on Oct. 12.
The drum was anchored to cinder blocks, police said.
At the time, authorities said they did not know the identity of the victim. But a man was at the marina passing out fliers for Omar Medina, who had been missing for almost two weeks.
In October, Albert Molina, a friend of Medina’s family, said, “We did ask for a wellness check where he lived. Police came back and found it suspicious, and they did request that detectives start looking into this.”
Molina said he was praying Medina was not the victim of foul play.
However, we now know that’s not the case.
A funeral service was held for Medina at the end of October, and on the front of a funeral service pamphlet was the day Omar Medina died, Oct. 12, 2017 — the same day the barrel was found in the bay.
For weeks, neither the police nor the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office would confirm Medina’s identity.
Friends and family describe Medina as a humble-yet-brilliant music producer.
According to his funeral pamphlet, Media was born in Chula Vista. It said: “He was an avid reader and writer. In the third grade, he read at a college level. He kept a journal where he expressed himself freely.”
The writing went on to say: “Omar’s selfless friendship, music talent, sense of humor and love for his family will be greatly missed.”
Detectives have not released any information about a suspect or motive for this crime.