Judge Releases Man Tried in Phylicia Barnes Murder Case

The Baltimore City Circuit Court reportedly dropped all charges against the suspect in the death of Phylicia Barnes, the North Carolina teen who disappeared three days after Christmas 2010 while visiting family in Baltimore. Her body was found in the Susquehanna River north of Havre de Grace in April 2011.

Michael Maurice Johnson, 30, of the 600 block of Cooks Lane, faced first and second-degree murder charges in Barnes’s death.

Johnson was reportedly the last person to have seen the 16-year-old girl alive and was dating her half-sister.

Barnes, who lived in Monroe, N.C., was visiting her half-sister when she went missing from northwest Baltimore on Dec. 28, 2010.

Baltimore City Judge John Addison Howard said that while the state presented “many intriguing issues that suggest [Johnson] may have been involved in the disappearance and death of Ms. Barnes,” there was “no direct evidence,” WBAL reported.

The Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office said it would not accept the decision to let Johnson go, issuing the following statement Tuesday afternoon: “We respectfully disagree with the court’s decision today based on the fact that the defense waived their right to a ruling on a motion for judgment of acquittal...the court had no jurisdiction to grant the acquittal and we will be seeking an appeal on those grounds.”

Johnson walked free Tuesday night from the Baltimore City Detention Center, after being incarcerated since charges of murder were brought against him in April 2012, The Baltimore Sun reported.

“This was long overdue,” Johnson’s mother told WBAL.

“...the city of Baltimore has let a child predator go,” Russell Barnes—the victim’s father—told The Baltimore Sun. “We still want justice for Phylicia.”

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The decision followed two mistrials since Johnson was indicted on a first-degree murder charge in April 2012.

In February 2013, jurors found Johnson guilty of second-degree murder.

Stating that the case hinged on testimony of a key witness who had not been properly introduced, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Alfred Nance said at sentencing that there would be a new trial.

• Jury Delivers Verdict in Phylicia Barnes Trial
• Attorneys in Phylicia Barnes Murder Case Seek New Trial
• New Trial for Man Convicted of Murdering Phylicia Barnes

When the second trial came, Judge Howard declared a mistrial in December 2014, after a redacted part of a recorded conversation between Johnson and his brother was played before the jury, according to The Baltimore Sun.

There was to be a third trial in March 2015; however, WBAL reports since Howard dropped the charges Tuesday, there will be no trial.

Screenshot from WBAL/YouTube.