Thursday, April 21, 2011

Arrest Made in Phylicia Barnes Murder Case

Michael Johnson
UPDATE III:  (April 26, 2012):   An arrest has been made in connection with the killing of Phylicia Barnes, the 16-year-old from North Carolina who vanished while visiting family in Northwest Baltimore in 2010 and was found dead months later in the Susquehanna River.

Word broke late Wednesday from Barnes' relatives, and was confirmed by authorities. The attorney for Michael Johnson, the former boyfriend of Phylicia's older sister, confirmed that his client had been taken into custody at about 11:30 pm on unknown charges. Johnson had been the last person to see her alive.

Phylicia Barnes
UPDATE II:  (May 4, 2011) Baltimore and MDSP have confirmed that an autopsy has confirmed that Phylicia Barnes was the victim of a homicide.  The cause of death is being withheld for investigative purposes

Police continue to urge anyone with information regarding the murder of Phylicia Barnes to contact them immediately.  If you have any information, please call the TIPS Line at 1-855-223-0033 or can call the Maryland State Police duty officer at 410-653-4200.  Calls will be kept confidential.
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UPDATE:  (April 21, 2011)  I am sad to report that 16-year old Phylicia Barnes' body was found yesterday in the Susquehanna River, just north of the Conowingo Dam in Maryland.   

Barnes was one of two unclothed bodies pulled from water on Wednesday morning.  The second body was that of an unidentified African-American male which police describe as 6' 4" and approx. 240 pounds. 

Police said crews working on the dam reported seeing what appeared to be a body floating in the river north of the dam at about 7:30 am. Natural Resources Police later recovered the body of a female from the water. In the afternoon, boaters in the river south of the dam found the body of a man. The bodies were taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for autopsies, officials said.  
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Phylicia Barnes, 16, was a resident of Monroe, NC (Union County) and was last seen on December 28, 2010 at her half-sister's apartment, located in northwest Baltimore, MD.  Phylicia Simone Barnes' disappearance has puzzled detectives, family members, friends and strangers since December.  Miss Barnes was an honor student at Union Academy and it is not like her to just disappear.  Police believe foul play is involved.    Anyone with information in the case is asked to call 1-855-223-0033.

* Watch latest Baltimore PD Press Release
* AMW's Missing Children Case File