Michael Johnson found not guilty of attempted murder and guilty of assault, rape in Baltimore County

Michael Maurice Johnson, the 42-year-old man who gained national attention in the murder case involving teenager Phylicia Barnes, was found guilty Friday of two counts of first-degree rape and one count of first-degree assault in a 2024 attack on his girlfriend in Baltimore County. 

Jurors rejected an attempted murder charge against him. 

Johnson did not show any visible emotion in court. His public defender vigorously fought back against the most serious charges. 

Maximum sentence

The rape charges carry a maximum life sentence in prison. The first-degree assault charge carries up to 25 years behind bars. 

That drew cheers from supporters of the 2024 victim as they left court Friday evening in Towson. 

"This verdict is personal to every woman across this country," victim advocate Monique Smith told WJZ Investigates. "As a society, it shows that accountability can happen and it will happen. What happened to that young lady and thousands of other young women across this country should not happen."

The case 

For the past two years, Johnson has been locked up in Baltimore County, accused of a brutal crime inside an apartment in Rosedale. 

Prosecutors alleged he strangled a teenager, his girlfriend at the time, 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 because he was texting another woman. 

"I thought I was going to die," the victim told jurors, at times testifying through tears earlier this week. 

"I got tired. I let my body go numb, and I let him choke me," she said.

She also testified that Johnson raped her during the ordeal. "I let him do whatever he could just so he would stop hurting me," she said. 

In one chilling exchange, the victim told jurors Johnson later asked her, "Did you think I was going to kill you?" 

She responded that she did. "He insisted he wasn't," she said.

Barnes' family reacts 

Barnes' cousin Tamara McCall closely followed the trial and told WJZ the verdict is bittersweet. 

"I'm saddened, and I hope she'll get peace," McCall said. 

Asked about whether this brings some measure of justice for her family, McCall said, "I think this is probably all the justice we're going to get."

This trial brought up painful emotions, and McCall remembered Barnes' legacy.

"She was just a great kid—a great, great person with a very pretty smile," McCall said.

Earlier in the week, Barnes' sister spoke to WJZ.

"Just to hear what this woman went through, I feel like that's some of what my sister went through. You understand. I felt like that's what she went through," said Shauntel Sallis, the older sister of Phylicia Barnes.

"I pray that this young lady gets justice, but I don't feel like my sister has gotten justice. I feel like this woman, I would love for her to get justice, but if he's convicted of this, I won't feel a happy feeling," Sallis said. 

Sentencing for Michael Johnson is expected in June before Judge Jan Alexander.