The murder of Phylicia Barnes is believed to have occurred in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, on December 28, 2010, in relation to a crime.
Her body was recovered in the Susquehanna River on April 20, 2011, following a series of searches and national media coverage from various outlets, including The Today Show.
At the time, police declined to provide any details as to how the murder occurred, how they identified him as a suspect, or a motive in the case.
[4] Phylicia Simone Barnes, born on January 12, 1994, and age 16 at the time of her disappearance, was an honor student from Monroe, North Carolina.
[5] Barnes initially was believed to have disappeared while walking to the Reisterstown Road Plaza in Baltimore from a nearby apartment complex on December 28, the last day she was seen.
[10] Friends and classmates of Barnes in Monroe held a carnival to raise money in her honor on April 9.
They said the investigation into forensics and into determining how Barnes died and how she got to a location 45 miles from where she disappeared could take weeks.
[18] On April 25, 2012, Michael Johnson, the ex-boyfriend of Barnes' half sister, was arrested after fleeing from police, in connection with the disappearance and murder.
The defense stated that the case was entirely circumstantial, and that Johnson did not have time to kill Barnes, clean the apartment of forensic evidence, and dispose of the body within the timeframe given, and altogether, he had no motive to commit the crime.
Johnson's attorneys sought a new trial, alleging that the prosecution bolstered the credibility of the petty criminal who testified on their behalf.
At Michael Johnson's sentencing hearing on March 20, the judge threw out the murder conviction and ordered that he receive a new trial.
[28] On January 20, 2015, Judge John Addison Howard dropped all charges against Michael Johnson, stating there was insufficient evidence to continue the trial.
On March 30, 2018, after a third trial, Johnson was acquitted of all charges related to the murder of Phylicia Barnes.
Police said they are closer to solving the case but did not want to divulge details in order to avoid jeopardizing the investigation.
Barnes' half-brother Bryan joined the Baltimore Police Department in 2012, inspired by the work detectives did.
[33] 2024 Update: Michael Johnson arrested and held without bail for an unrelated incident involving a 19-year woman in Baltimore, Maryland.