Man cleared in killing of 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes now accused of raping, strangling woman

BALTIMORE -- Michael Maurice Johnson, who was convicted and later cleared of killing 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes, has been charged with strangling and raping a young woman in Baltimore County.

The alleged victim told police that Johnson, 40, overheard her on the phone talking about a boy and became enraged, assaulting her throughout the night including punching her, strangling her until she lost consciousness and raping her. He was charged Monday and ordered held without bail the following day. He did not have an attorney listed in court records.

Barnes, an honors student in North Carolina, was visiting family in Northwest Baltimore in 2010 when she went missing, and her body was later found in the Susquehanna River. Johnson, who had gotten to know Barnes from dating her older half-sister, was the last known person to see her alive and would be charged with killing her.

Read more at The Baltimore Banner