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Chula Vista police identify man found dead inside barrel floating in San Diego Bay

Posted at 8:21 AM, Nov 22, 2017
and last updated 2017-11-22 21:53:17-05

CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) - Chula Vista police have 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 while a man was at the marina passing out fliers for Omar Medina, who had been missing for almost two weeks.

RELATED: Body found in drum chained to cement block in San Diego Bay

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, "10/12/17" -- 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.

The medical examiner's office told Team 10 that case is sealed, but while investigators pieced together the crime, there has been speculation.

One friend who attended Medina's funeral told Team 10 friends and family did not want to talk about how Medina died, but they were pretty sure the victim was their friend.

They described Medina as a brilliant music producer, and they called him the most humble guy you would ever meet.

According to this final goodbye 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 say it took so long to release the name because they didn't want to compromise their investigation. They've narrowed down their focus to a few potential suspects. There is still no known motive.

Medina's family told 10News they are leaving it in God's hands and they are thankful for law enforcement doing their job.