Man acquitted of Phylicia Barnes' murder set for trial again for attempted killing in Baltimore County
A jury was selected Monday in the trial of Michael Maurice Johnson for the attempted murder and rape of a teenager in Baltimore County.
Johnson made headlines more than a decade ago after he was charged with the murder of Phylicia Barnes, a teenager visiting her sister in Baltimore City. He was acquitted of that crime after three trials.
Opening statements in the new case are scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 21, in Baltimore County Circuit Court.
Alleged attempted murder and rape
For the past two years, 42-year-old Michael Maurice Johnson has been locked up in Baltimore County, accused of a brutal crime inside an apartment in Rosedale.
Prosecutors alleged he strangled a teenager in an attack that lasted six hours, using his hands and a fan cord.
The victim was so badly injured, charging documents stated, she could not speak and had to communicate with police by text.
That victim was in foster care and told police Johnson became enraged when he thought he heard her talking about a boy during a phone call with her sister.
But Johnson claimed the victim attacked him and beat him because he was texting another woman.
Bringing back painful memories
Phylicia Barnes' father fought for years for justice in her case.
"We want to see the justice system not to fail this young lady and her family as they failed us," Russell Barnes told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren when the Baltimore County charges were announced.
His daughter was a 16-year-old honor student from North Carolina visiting her half sister in Northwest Baltimore when she was killed just after Christmas in 2010.
The killer dumped her body in the Susquehanna River.
"It just brings back how Phylica was murdered and what happened to her, her innocence and how her life was taken,"
her father said. "We believe she was asphyxiated and was strangled to death after she was raped."
New case begins
Johnson's defense argued at a motions hearing Monday the medical record showed no sign the victim had a concussion or brain injury in the 2024 assault and rape.
His public defender said she plans to fight back against assertions the victim had life-threatening injuries.
Prosecutors have expert medical witnesses, and Judge Jan Alexander provided some guardrails about their testimony Monday afternoon.
Also, the parties have agreed to exclude mentioning any past domestic violence allegations involving Johnson and the victim.
Johnson, who lived in York, Pennsylvania prior to his arrest, was in court Monday and wore an orange prison jumpsuit as he sat next to his lawyers.
