Trial Continues For Man Accused Of Killing Phylicia Barnes
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A trial continues for the man accused in the 2010 murder of 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes.
In the trial's opening statements, prosecutors said one key witness in first trial against Michael Johnson would not be called.
Johnson, 30, was found guilty of Barnes' murder last year but the verdict was overturned.
The judge said, according to The Baltimore Sun, that prosecutors withheld information about the witness, James McCray, who had been deemed a "jailhouse snitch" by defense attorneys.
McCray claimed he saw Barnes' body after Johnson asked him to help get rid of it. But prosecutors didn't disclose that McCray had been a witness in two other unrelated trials.
Barnes was an honor student with a glowing smile. She vanished just after Christmas in 2010. The search for her became the largest in Baltimore history, ending in heartbreak when her body was found floating in the Susquehanna River.
Johnson was the last person seen with her.
The problem for prosecutors has been a lack of evidence to pin the crime on Johnson, who once dated Barnes' sister.
Prosecutors say Johnson became obsessed with Barnes, texting her more than 1,000 times, but he claims he's innocent. Now a new jury will decide his fate.
Phylicia Barnes' mother and father both believe prosecutors charged the right man and they supported that prior verdict.
The trial is expected to last ten days.
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