A jury Wednesday found a Baltimore man guilty of second-degree murder in the case of Phylicia Barnes, a teen whose body was found in the Susquehanna River in 2011, according to The Baltimore Sun.
Michael Maurice Johnson, 29, of Baltimore, who had dated Barnes' half-sister Deena for several years, was indicted on a first-degree murder charge in April. He was reportedly the last person said to have seen Barnes alive.
The 16-year-old Barnes, a student from Monroe, NC, was visiting her half-sister in northwest Baltimore when she went missing Dec. 28, 2010. Several search parties attempted to locate the teen, who was said to be an honor student.
Workers at the Conowingo Dam discovered her body on April 20, 2011, and authorities identified the teen by her dental records.
Jurors have been deliberating since Monday, after the judge expressed "great concern" about what was presented during the 11-day trial, according to WBAL TV.
Most of the evidence was circumstantial, several media outlets indicated.
According to The Baltimore Sun, the major pieces of evidence were two videos—a Walmart surveillance tape showing Johnson purchasing a plastic tub that prosecutors said he put Barnes' body in, and a cell phone video showing Barnes, Deena, Johnson and others intoxicated and kissing.
One man, who CBS News said provided "key testimony," said Johnson told him that he raped Barnes, choked her because she wouldn't stop crying and asked for help disposing of her body.
"There is only one person in this investigation that all of the facts and circumstances point to," the assistant state's attorney said, according to The Baltimore Sun.
Upon hearing the guilty verdict on Feb. 5, Barnes' mother said "Yes!" and her father said, "Now she can sleep," the Charlotte Observer reported.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 21, and Johnson may face up to 30 years in jail.
See Related:
- Former Boyfriend of Phylicia Barnes' Sister Indicted on Murder Charge
- Investigation into Death of Teen Moves to ‘New Place’
- Two Bodies Pulled from Susquehanna River
- Female Body Found in Susquehanna River is Missing Teen from Baltimore
- Police Still Searching for Missing 16-Year-Old
- Search for Missing Girl Brings Maryland Rescue Teams Together
This would be a lot better if it just said, "Phylicia did not deserve to be raped and killed."
What makes you think that Trayvon Martin was lured into the gangsta mentality? That is not at all what I think/thought of him. He was just a kid coming home from 7-11 with some candy and a drink. The fact that he had a teeny amount of marijuana in his stystem at the time of his death is quite insignificant. If he had been behaving suspiciously, like lurking and looking into windows, etc., then maybe GZ had the right to ask him what he was doing there. How in the hell was Trayvon supposed to know who GZ was? If GZ had been following me around like that I probably would have screamed so someone would come help, but I'm not a 17 year old young man. In fact I'm a middle aged, white female. But, I saw from the very beginning exactly what happened and why. GZ is a cop wannabe on the lookout for black males that had been allegedly involved in a couple of recent break-ins and poor Trayvon fit the bill. SMH I can only hope and pray that GZ (the loser) is found guilty and is locked up for a very long time. He's a threat to the safety to everyone except himself. I have a nick name for him P+&&Y with a gun as that's exactly what he his. Not to mention a lying prick.
If, and I mean a big IF I can guarantee you that if TM had repeatedly banged his head on the sidewalk he would have had a more significant injury. I have friends and family in Orlando so maybe I get a little more info than you. I'm certainly in favor of him getting a fair trial. It might help further that if O'Mara would stay off TV putting his BS out there and polluting the jury pool. Sorry if you thought I was trying to be a judge, jury and executioner type, as I said nothing of the sort, and most definately not execute him. It's not a death penalty case. As for my language, I'm too old to give a damn what my mother thinks, she's not around anyway.
Did you SEE these pictures? What was he to do? http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/03/justice/george-zimmerman-photo
There is no law or moral issue with GZ profiling anyone he comes across. Apparently his profiling paid off and he is alive and the attacker is dead.
(cont.)
His profiling paid off???? He wouldn't have been confronted if he hadn't been following him in the first place, in contradiction to what the police told him to do. And asking TM why he was there, etc., was none of his business, since at that point all he was was a man in the neighborhood and not acting in his capacity as a "Neighborhood Watch" person. And if he had been NW he would not have been permitted to carry and/or conceal as it's strictly prohibited. Did it ever occur to you that his behavior might have been a bit scary for Trayvon? Which caused TM to punch him in the face.
Reality is NOT what you typed. When i read anything like this I take everything else with the credibility it deserves, NONE! "If you know anything about any injury to the head ..." The attacker was killed and the ATTACKED lived, just haw things are supposed to end up.
Are you questioning the validity of my statement that head injuries bleed a lot more than anywhere else (almost) on the body? Ask anyone in the medical profession then. The attacker would NOT have been ATTACKED if he had followed the instructions from the PD and/or just gone on to Target and mind his own business. It's sad that you think that a 17 year old should be killed for a broken nose? Don't you think GZ being the adult could have handled the whole situation better than killing him? SMDH
Anyway, let's just not end this now. We don't agree, period. But, I am sorry that you think the life of an innocent 17 year old doesn't matter.
And Trayvon was drinking the tea or eating the skittles, he was just carrying them. And neither could be considered a weapon.
How much blood neither you nor I saw has any bearing on anything. His head was banged ion the ground and that is not in dispute!
there you go again. Pure speculation and any comment like that has no place in a rational discussion. You apparently heard and remembered the altered 911 tape NBC played to accomplish EXACTLY what you have said. that altered tape was used to ingrain false attributes to Zimmerman and it worked so well on you.
More revisionist bullshirt. If you listen to the 911 call, NOT the NBC one, you will hear "911 dispatcher: Are you following him? [2:24] Zimmerman: Yeah. [2:25] 911 dispatcher: OK. We don’t need you to do that. [2:26] Zimmerman: OK. [2:28] 911 dispatcher: Alright, sir, what is your name? [2:34] Zimmerman: George. He ran." He stopped when told to stop according to the transcript. "Did it ever occur to you that his behavior might have been a bit scary for Trayvon?" Yes! I did wonder about that. i wondered why he would cause a confrontation when none were needed! If I was scared in his position I would have left the area. Another thing ingrained in us, fight or flight. He fought and paid the price. Sometimes the best course is flight. He was apparently feeling big and bad enough that flight was not an option. He paid the price for his poor decision.
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