Introduction
You may have heard the name Julio Foolio and wondered what really happened to him. The story does not start or end with a single gunshot. It spans a life lived in the shadow of gang violence, a birthday celebration that turned into a tragedy, and a courtroom battle that only just reached its conclusion in May 2026.
The Julio Foolio autopsy confirmed what investigators feared: the Jacksonville rapper died from multiple gunshot wounds, including a fatal bullet that tore through his lung, heart, and aorta. He was 26 years old. He had just celebrated his birthday hours before.
This article covers everything you need to know. You will find the autopsy findings, the events of that night, the suspects, the trial verdict, and the lasting impact Foolio left on hip-hop. We present only verified facts from court testimony, law enforcement statements, and credible news sources.
Who Was Julio Foolio? A Quick Look at His Life
Before diving into the autopsy details, you need to understand who Charles Andrew Jones II was.
Julio Foolio was born on June 21, 1998, in Jacksonville, Florida. He grew up in the Moncrief neighborhood and was a member of the “6 Block” set of the street gang KTA (“Kill Them All”). His father, Charles Andrew Jones, was murdered in a 2011 shooting in Jacksonville.
Despite that painful start, Foolio turned to music. He built a real audience through raw, honest storytelling.
His breakout came with independent tracks “Crooks” and “Voodoo,” which gained millions of views on social media. His music gained further attention through his widely publicized feud with Yungeen Ace.
He released three studio albums: Life of Me (2022), Final Destination (2023), and Resurrection (2024). Each project showed his growth as an artist. Fans respected his honesty about street life. He never pretended to be someone he was not.
But that honesty came at a cost.
The Night Julio Foolio Was Killed
What Happened on June 23, 2024
In June 2024, Julio Foolio traveled to Tampa from Jacksonville to celebrate his birthday. The Tampa Police Department said the 26-year-old rapper was hunted down and shot multiple times in the parking lot of a cluster of hotels near the University of South Florida on McKinley Drive.
The night started at an Airbnb. It did not stay there.
Prior to the shooting, Jones posted on Instagram that he was in Tampa celebrating his birthday. He later posted that Saturday evening, claiming police kicked him out of an Airbnb, so he moved the party to a new location.
That Instagram post sealed his fate. The suspects were watching.
The prosecution stated that the defendants came to Tampa to hunt, track, and kill Charles Jones. The men were heavily armed and masked. Surviving victims were still targeted after the initial attack.
Around 4:40 AM, gunmen opened fire in the parking lot. Three other people were wounded. Foolio died at the scene.
The Julio Foolio Autopsy: What the Medical Examiner Found
Cause of Death: Multiple Gunshot Wounds
The autopsy was conducted by the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office. The findings were later presented in court as key evidence during two separate trials.
Dr. Noah Reilly, the medical examiner who performed the autopsy on the Jacksonville rapper, testified that a bullet went through Foolio’s lung, heart, and aorta.
This wound was immediately fatal. When a bullet travels through all three of those structures, survival is nearly impossible. No amount of emergency care would have reversed that damage.
Jones was fatally shot in the heart, lungs, and aorta, and three others were wounded after a group of men armed with pistols and rifles opened fire on them in the parking lot of a Home2 Suites in Tampa, Florida.
Manner of Death: Homicide
The autopsy officially classified Foolio’s death as a homicide. This was not an accident. It was not self-inflicted. Someone deliberately targeted him.
The manner of death was ruled homicide, as Foolio was targeted in an intentional shooting. Though the specific placement of each wound has not been released publicly, autopsies in homicide cases typically document the trajectory of bullets, organ damage, and whether wounds were fatal individually or collectively.
What an Autopsy Report Actually Contains
If you have never read about a forensic autopsy before, here is what you should know. A standard autopsy report documents:
- The cause of death (what physically killed the person)
- The manner of death (homicide, accident, suicide, or natural)
- Toxicology results (substances found in the body at the time of death)
- The location and trajectory of every wound
- The extent of organ damage
In cases involving public figures, such reports often become the subject of significant media attention and speculation. The Julio Foolio autopsy report plays several roles: it serves as legal evidence for prosecutors, provides closure for family and fans, and becomes part of public records through the county medical examiner’s office.
Toxicology Findings
Some reports suggest Foolio’s blood alcohol content was elevated at the time of death, consistent with someone who had been celebrating at a birthday party through the early morning hours. However, official toxicology results confirmed through court testimony have focused primarily on the gunshot wounds as the direct cause of death.
The toxicology findings did not change the legal outcome. The manner of death remained homicide regardless of any substances present.
The Suspects: Who Killed Julio Foolio?
Five People Were Charged
Five individuals were arrested and charged in connection with Foolio’s murder. The case centered on a yearslong gang war between Jones’ gang, known as 6 Block, and two rival Jacksonville factions called Ace’s Top Killers (ATK) and 1200. All four convicted defendants are members of either ATK or 1200.
The five suspects were:
- Sean Gathright (age 18 at arrest, now 20)
- Isaiah Chance (age 18 at arrest)
- Rashad Murphy (age 30 at arrest)
- Davion Murphy (age 27 at arrest, arrested January 2025)
- Alicia Andrews (age 21 at arrest, girlfriend of Isaiah Chance)
How Investigators Built the Case
Prosecutors presented surveillance footage showing the four men traveling together from Jacksonville to Tampa specifically to find Jones. Gathright, Rashad Murphy, and Davion Murphy were identified as the gunmen who opened fire on vehicles associated with Jones in the hotel parking lot. Chance, along with his girlfriend Alicia Andrews, served as scouts, tracking the victim’s location before the attack was carried out.
Investigators built the case using social media records, cell phone data, hotel surveillance cameras, DNA evidence, and location tracking. Sean Gathright’s DNA was recovered from tape found on a rifle connected to the shooting. Text messages and Instagram activity documented the group coordinating movements in the days before the murder.
That Instagram birthday post Foolio made? The suspects used it to track him.
Image Description 2
A composite graphic showing the five mugshots of the suspects charged in Julio Foolio’s murder: Sean Gathright, Isaiah Chance, Rashad Murphy, Davion Murphy, and Alicia Andrews, arranged in a row against a dark background with the case name below.
The Murder Trial: Two Trials, One Verdict
Alicia Andrews: The First Trial
Alicia Andrews went to trial first in October 2025. The results surprised many observers.
Alicia Andrews, a fifth suspect charged in the rapper’s murder, went on trial last fall and was found guilty of manslaughter instead of first-degree murder and not guilty of conspiracy to commit murder.
Andrews, 23, is the only woman among the five people arrested in connection with the murder. She was convicted in October 2025 on a manslaughter charge and currently faces up to 15 years in prison. Her legal team is now seeking a new trial, arguing that Judge Sisco made multiple consequential rulings that unfairly shaped the outcome of her case.
Her sentencing has been delayed as of May 2026 while courts review her attorneys’ challenge.
The Main Trial: Four Men Face Justice
On April 22, 2026, the trial for Isaiah Chance, Sean Gathright, Rashad Murphy, and Davion Murphy began as prosecutors sought the death penalty.
The trial lasted nearly a month. Both sides presented detailed arguments.
The prosecution argued the four men drove from Jacksonville to Tampa with one goal: to kill Foolio. They used his own social media posts to track him. They came with rifles, pistols, masks, and a plan.
The defense told a different story. Rashad Murphy’s attorney said that his client could not be placed in Tampa when the victim was killed, claiming his phone does not track in Tampa anytime around the murder. Sean Gathright’s attorney said his client had no part in this incident and was barely 18 and found himself caught up in the whirlwind.
The jury did not buy it.
The Verdict: Guilty on All Counts
On Friday evening, after deliberating for about eight hours, a jury found all four suspects guilty of first-degree murder.
The jury convicted Isaiah Chance, Sean Gathright, Rashad Murphy, and Davion Murphy of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The jury deliberated for eight hours and also convicted Gathright and the Murphys of attempted second-degree murder, because they allegedly wounded other individuals during the shooting.
On May 8, 2026, all four defendants standing trial were found guilty of all charges ranging from first-degree murder to attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
The Death Penalty Phase
The verdict was only the beginning of sentencing proceedings.
The four convicted men now face possible death sentences as the penalty phase begins. The same jury that delivered the guilty verdicts will return to begin determining whether any of the four men should be sentenced to death.
Sean Gathright, 20, testified in the penalty phase of his trial. “I’m not here to dispute anything. I’m here to be a man and take responsibility and express my feelings about this whole situation,” Gathright said on Tuesday as he took the stand.
Prosecutors are actively seeking the death penalty for all four men.
Image Description 3
A wide-angle view of a Tampa, Florida courtroom interior showing the judge’s bench, jury box, and defense and prosecution tables during the Julio Foolio murder trial in 2026. Court TV cameras are visible in the gallery.
What the Autopsy Means Beyond the Medical Report
The Julio Foolio autopsy is more than a medical document. It sits at the center of a larger conversation about violence, music, fame, and justice.
The Connection Between His Music and His Death
Foolio’s songs were never just entertainment. They were dispatches from a war zone. He rapped openly about gang life, feuds, and loss. Tracks like “When I See You” and “Skitzo” made people uncomfortable precisely because they felt real.
Foolio’s 2019 mixtape Never Wanted Fame was described as “preoccupied with death and jail visits, ailing family members and creeping paranoia.”
He was not performing a character. He was documenting his life.
That documentation made him a target.
The Warning Signs Were There
Foolio survived at least two earlier shootings before June 2024. He was shot and wounded in July 2023 in Houston, Texas, and was shot in the foot while driving in Jacksonville on October 7, 2023. In an April 2024 post to his Instagram account, Foolio commented on the “tragic multiple attempts on my life.”
Two months later, there was no surviving.
Artist Safety and the Cost of Transparency
Foolio’s death reignited a debate that hip-hop has circled for decades. When artists from violent backgrounds rap honestly about their lives, does that put them in more danger?
There is no clean answer. What we can say is that Foolio’s music gave his audience a window into a world most people never see. That honesty earned him fans. It also drew enemies.
Julio Foolio’s Legacy in Hip-Hop
Death does not erase art. Foolio’s music still reaches new listeners every day.
His discography documents a specific time, place, and community. Life of Me, Final Destination, and Resurrection form a trilogy of survival, defiance, and ultimately, loss.
Tracks like “Dead Opps,” “When I See You,” and “Skitzo” showed his talent in transforming pain into music. His honest and raw approach to music earned him recognition and left a lasting mark on the genre.
He was 26 years old. He had released three albums before his death. He had more to say.
Jones was interred in Edgewood Cemetery, Florida on July 6, 2024. His family, fans, and the wider hip-hop community mourned publicly and loudly.
Conclusion
The Julio Foolio autopsy tells one part of a much larger story. It confirms the medical facts: he died from a bullet that destroyed his lung, heart, and aorta. It classifies his death as homicide. It provides the evidence that sent four men toward a possible death sentence.
But the autopsy does not capture who he was. It does not explain the music, the feuds, the loyalty, or the loss. That part lives in his records, in interviews, and in the memories of people who knew him.
What happened to Julio Foolio reflects a cycle that destroys real people. The trial verdict, handed down in May 2026, brought legal justice. Whether it brings closure is a different question.
If his story makes you think about something, share it. If you grew up listening to his music, keep listening. And if you know someone caught in a similar situation, do what you can to help them find another way out.
Foolio tried to document the truth. The least we can do is pay attention to it.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What did the Julio Foolio autopsy reveal as the cause of death? The autopsy confirmed that Julio Foolio died from multiple gunshot wounds. A bullet passed through his lung, heart, and aorta, causing fatal injuries. The medical examiner testified to these findings during the murder trial.
2. Who killed Julio Foolio? Four men were convicted of his murder: Sean Gathright, Isaiah Chance, Rashad Murphy, and Davion Murphy. A fifth suspect, Alicia Andrews, was convicted of manslaughter for her role as a scout in the attack.
3. When and where was Julio Foolio killed? He was killed in the early morning hours of June 23, 2024, in the parking lot of a hotel near the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. He had been celebrating his 26th birthday.
4. What was the verdict in the Julio Foolio murder trial? On May 8, 2026, after eight hours of deliberation, a Tampa jury found all four male suspects guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Prosecutors are now seeking the death penalty in the sentencing phase.
5. Why was Julio Foolio targeted? He was targeted as part of a gang war between his group, 6 Block, and two rival Jacksonville factions known as ATK (Ace’s Top Killers) and 1200. The four convicted men are members of these rival gangs.
6. What was Julio Foolio’s real name? His real name was Charles Andrew Jones II. He was born on June 21, 1998, in Jacksonville, Florida.
7. What role did Instagram play in Julio Foolio’s death? On the night of his death, Foolio posted on Instagram that he was in Tampa celebrating his birthday and later revealed his new hotel location after being removed from an Airbnb. Prosecutors argued the suspects used these posts to track and find him.
8. Did Alicia Andrews receive the death penalty? No. Andrews was convicted of manslaughter, not first-degree murder, and faces up to 15 years in prison. As of May 2026, her sentencing is delayed while her attorneys pursue a new trial.
9. What albums did Julio Foolio release before his death? He released three studio albums: Life of Me (2022), Final Destination (2023), and Resurrection (2024). He also released several well-known mixtapes and independent tracks throughout his career.
10. What was Julio Foolio’s blood alcohol content at the time of death? Some reports indicate his blood alcohol content was elevated, which aligns with the fact that he had been at a birthday party. However, the official cause of death as confirmed by autopsy testimony was the gunshot wounds, not any substance.
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Author Bio
Jordan Blake is a crime and culture writer with over eight years of experience covering hip-hop, criminal justice, and the intersection between the two. Jordan has followed the Julio Foolio case since 2024, including trial proceedings through 2026. His work focuses on telling true stories with accuracy, empathy, and clarity. When he is not reporting on courtroom proceedings, he writes about the cultural impact of rap music on communities across the American South.
