Now the first details about the surprising death of Joseph “Jo Mersa” Marley have become known. The grandson of music legend Bob Marley (1945-1981) passed away on December 26, 2022 at the age of just 31. As the magazine “Rolling Stone” reports, citing documents from the authorities, Marley died of an acute worsening of his asthma as a result of a viral infection. Marley was found lifeless in his car in a parking lot and was later pronounced dead.
The coroner said the singer was suffering from asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia and was not taking his asthma medication at the time of his death. The report also noted that on December 25 he informed his mother that he was feeling ill. He blamed the symptoms on his asthma. During the autopsy, severe changes in the lungs were found, and discoloration from smoking could also be detected.
A toxicology report revealed that Marley had THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and a small amount of alcohol in his blood at the time of death. Traces of the opioid antagonist naloxone, which is also used in nasal sprays, were also found.
Marley was born in Jamaica in 1991 before moving to Miami at the age of eleven. As a child, he was already on stage with his father and his uncle Ziggy Marley (54) and the family band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. In 2010 he released his first song “My Girl”, his first solo EP “Comfortable” was released four years later.
His work “Eternal”, which features collaborations with reggae and dancehall artists such as Busy Signal (43), was released in 2021. In an interview with “Rolling Stone”, Marley once said that he was making his own way away from his famous family want to go: “I belong to the new generation of Marleys, but at the same time I’m still experimenting. My plan is to create something new with my roots.”
