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Episode Feed Drop from Reverie True Crime: The Case of Phylicia Barnes
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Phylicia Barnes was 16-years-old when she went to visit her siblings in Baltimore, Maryland for the Christmas holidays in 2010. She stayed with her 27-year-old half-sister, Deena, at her basement apartment. On December 28th, 2010, Phylicia left the apartment to grab some food and had plans with her other sister, Kelly, to get her hair done later that day. After 1:30PM, no one heard from or saw Phylicia again. Months later, after no evidence or a single clue, Phylicia was found deceased. There are shocking discoveries and many twists and turns along the way. So many questions have gone unanswered. The biggest question of all remains unknown to this day. Did the suspect, who was pinned for her murder, actually commit the crime?
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Transcript
Introduction to the Reverie True Crime Podcast
00:00:04
Speaker
Hello everyone and welcome to Reverie True Crime. I'm your host, Paige.
The Disappearance of Felicia Barnes
00:00:12
Speaker
A teenage girl goes to visit her siblings in another state and stays at her older sister's apartment. A few days later, she vanishes, seemingly without a trace.
00:00:25
Speaker
As a family tries to find their loved one, rumors begin to circulate about the people and behavior allowed in the sister's apartment. The last person to see the teenage girl alive claims they are innocent, even though the odds are not stacked in their favor and many believe the person is guilty. Will we ever know the truth? What happened to Felicia Barnes?
Family and Last Known Whereabouts
00:00:55
Speaker
Let's get started. 16-year-old Felicia Barnes was from Monroe, North Carolina. She lived with her mother Janice, and her father Russell was living in Atlanta, Georgia. Felicia's siblings are Dana, Kelly, and Brian.
00:01:17
Speaker
Her half-sister, 27-year-old Dina, lived in Baltimore, Maryland in a Northwest Baltimore apartment. Dina was a pharmacy technician and studying to be a midwife. Around the year 2000, she and Felicia met for the first time at a family reunion in Baltimore.
00:01:39
Speaker
The two reunited again around 2008 on Facebook, and Felicia went to see Dina multiple times in Baltimore. Felicia set out to go visit Dina, Kelly, and Brian for the holidays in late December of 2010. When she got to Baltimore, she stayed at Dina's basement apartment.
00:02:03
Speaker
Close to the apartment, there was a home depot that you could easily see, and the store was a part of a shopping center. Dina had left the apartment that morning around 8.45. Felicia and her sister had spoken on the phone, texted throughout the morning and early afternoon about Felicia wanting to go get her hair done.
00:02:26
Speaker
Dana's ex-boyfriend, who she had been with for about 10 years, was at the apartment with Felicia. He had called out of work that day.
Search Intensifies: Community and Police Efforts
00:02:36
Speaker
Before he left the apartment, by his accounts, she was asleep on the couch.
00:02:43
Speaker
Felicia exited her sister Dina's apartment on December 28th around 1.30 in the afternoon. She was wearing a turquoise thermal shirt with a navy blue pea coat with a hood on top, blue jeans, white slippers or boots, and a caramel colored purse. Felicia's other sister, Kelly, had planned to pick her up later that evening.
00:03:09
Speaker
Kelly tried calling Felicia many times from 1230 to 1.30 that afternoon, but there was no answer. Dina received a text message from Felicia a little before 1.30 about getting something to eat while she was out and about. When Dina got home that evening around six o'clock, strangely, Felicia was not there. That was very much unlike her.
00:03:39
Speaker
So, Dina figured that she was likely with their sister, Kelly, since she was supposed to pick her up that day. Dina called Kelly and found out Felicia was not with her. Then she called her father, other family members, her ex-boyfriend, and friends. Nobody had seen or heard from Felicia. After the phone calls, Dina reported her sister missing by 7.30 that evening.
00:04:09
Speaker
After the teenager was reported missing, her family knew that she didn't simply run away. That was not in Felicia's nature, very unusual, and she was excited to be with her siblings for the holidays. Thankfully, law enforcement listened to the ones who knew her best, and they didn't brush off this matter or consider Felicia a teenage runaway.
00:04:36
Speaker
The police were instantly concerned, getting involved rather quickly. They found specific items Felicia had left behind that one normally wouldn't if they were skipping town freely, not planning to come back.
Challenges in the Investigation
00:04:52
Speaker
They feared that insinuated something sinister had happened. Though everyone involved tried to keep a hopeful outlook,
00:05:04
Speaker
Baltimore investigators were ringing Felicia's cell phone, but she nor anyone else ever answered, but they were sure her phone was still on at this time. When Felicia's father Russell heard that his daughter had gone missing, he immediately booked it from his home in Atlanta to Baltimore. He did have an optimistic attitude and felt that his daughter was still alive.
00:05:33
Speaker
and he stayed vigilant, determined to bring her home safe. The family also had the aid of many church and community leaders. In 2010, there were 352 missing persons from Baltimore, and investigators worked on all of those reports. Only about five had not been solved at the time.
00:05:58
Speaker
The head of the homicide unit explained that normally in cases where people leave of their own free will, usually we're dealing with family disputes, substance abuse issues, a troubled past, emotional issues, or other hardships in their lives. In Felicia's case, none of those issues applied.
00:06:22
Speaker
Law enforcement made sure to look into her background and found nothing that would indicate that she willingly went away to another state. Not even 10 days after Felicia vanished, over 100 police officers scavenged the woods and streams of Leakin Park, a place known to be a quote, dumping ground for bodies.
00:06:48
Speaker
They searched with dive teams and cadaver dogs in tow. 35 departments, which was around 70 homicide detectives, along with detectives from missing persons and district squads, FBI agents from their crimes against children unit, and the state police were all working hard to find this missing teenage girl.
00:07:14
Speaker
It wasn't easy due to no one coming forward with any possible sightings and there was no evidence at all that would help them in their efforts. They were truly doing all they could do at the time. Law enforcement had to rely on the public to tell them any information they may know or if anyone had spotted Felicia. Officers went to Dina's apartment
00:07:42
Speaker
They interviewed Dina's boyfriend, who was the last person to see Felicia, and were sure they had found and questioned everyone who was there during the holiday at the time Felicia was. Police said Dina's apartment was comparable to a college flophouse where young adults would drift in and out.
00:08:06
Speaker
Felicia's mother Janice was not happy at all with her daughter Dina for allowing at least 20 men in and out of her apartment during the holidays. Felicia's debit card had not been used, her cell phone was no longer active, and she had not been on any of her social media accounts. A few tips came in here and there, but they all led to dead ends.
00:08:34
Speaker
As far as persons of interest, investigators said there were a few, but admittedly none of those people were more of interest than another. There wasn't a suspect yet or evidence that would lead to answering what happened to Felicia. Investigators were transparent that at that point they were looking into anyone who knew Felicia and stayed in Dina's apartment.
00:09:04
Speaker
Law enforcement had plans to conduct more searches, as well as go back and ask questions again to everyone they had already questioned to make sure everything was done to the absolute best of their ability on that end.
Family Dynamics and Media Coverage Issues
00:09:21
Speaker
Officials were clear that though they believed her disappearance was foul play, that they didn't have any solid evidence to prove it.
00:09:31
Speaker
It had been eight days since Felicia disappeared, and with so many feet on the ground for days searching tirelessly and no traces of Felicia, police were bewildered. This was unlike anything they'd really dealt with before.
00:09:50
Speaker
Even though we know it doesn't happen and it may be cliche to say, it really was as if Felicia had vanished into thin air. However, law enforcement kept their outlook positive.
00:10:05
Speaker
FBI helicopters capable of identifying heat signatures given off by decomposing bodies by using special devices and apparatuses had been exploring the area. But at this point in the search, police had hoped that they would find Felicia alive, and so did her father Russell.
00:10:27
Speaker
The shopping center by Dina's apartment is where one of the conferences were held and their father Russell thanked police officers for all they had done and were doing. He said, this is about finding my child, my child.
00:10:45
Speaker
Russell along with many cadets who had come by bus from a police academy class who were assisting with combing the area for Felicia began to pass out flyers to everyone gathered around as well as walking the shopping center and giving out Felicia's missing persons flyers to all shoppers.
00:11:07
Speaker
On the 11th day of Felicia's disappearance, Russell and 30 volunteers from the community, including an activist group called Guardian Angels, had come together to search the area for 16-year-old Felicia. As the snow fell, they combed through the wooded areas, searched up and down railroad tracks, and covered the ground around Dina's apartment complex, diligently seeking to find any clue
00:11:38
Speaker
Russell told the media that he and everyone involved was of the belief that wherever Felicia was that she was alive He let the public know there was a reward of $4,000 for information about his daughter He said he would never believe that Felicia was gone He said she's here. I'm never going to stop looking. I
00:12:05
Speaker
One man from Felicia's hometown drove several hours to Baltimore to stay at a friend's house while he volunteered in the searches. This man's daughter was in seventh grade, attending the same school where Felicia was a senior, an honor roll student, a track star, and was set to graduate early, then moved to Baltimore to attend Townsend University.
00:12:33
Speaker
Everyone at the Charter High School had been consistently wearing purple, which was Felicia's favorite color, to show their solidarity and express their hopes that she would be found and brought home safely. During a wrestling match, the school wrestling team even wore purple socks to show their love and support.
00:12:55
Speaker
The man who drove to Baltimore explained that he could not look his daughter in the eyes and truthfully tell her that everything was being done if he himself didn't help in some way. He said if his daughter went missing, he would want everyone possible to help him find her.
00:13:16
Speaker
A 20-year-old University of Maryland Eastern Shore student named Jessica took the subway from her house in Baltimore to help. She said Felicia was a young girl like her, and if something like that ever happened to her, she would want people on the ground looking for her too. It was really beautiful how many people came together in an effort to help Felicia and her family.
00:13:46
Speaker
Janice and her daughter Dina appeared to be butting heads at the time. Tensions were high, and when something so shocking, horrifying, and heartbreaking like this happens, loved ones sometimes have these conflicts. Dina was upset because her mother had said all of these men had been in and out of her apartment when she claimed that simply was not the case.
00:14:15
Speaker
Dina said only she and two others had a key to her apartment, one being her ex-boyfriend who was in the process of moving out and the second being his younger cousin. It was still being reported in the newspapers that police knew her place was a college house that wasn't always secured and up to a dozen people were in and out during the holidays.
00:14:42
Speaker
Janice had gone on The Today Show, a national television news show in the United States, and she explained what she understood had happened at the time. Simultaneously, she did share how she felt deceived by Dina, since she said that she would make sure to watch Felicia and keep her safe.
00:15:06
Speaker
Janice stated that she would have never allowed her daughter to go had she thought Dina was not going to keep an eye on her as closely as she would have wanted, as well as her thoughts about alcohol being used and men coming in and out of the apartment.
00:15:25
Speaker
As a parent of a missing child, the emotional and mental anguish that it must cause to try their best to manage is something a lot of us cannot ever imagine. We can sympathize and try to empathize with how Janice was feeling, and people's feelings are always valid.
00:15:47
Speaker
It was likely hard for Dana to digest that her mother had said that she felt deceived by her and talked about men coming and going from her apartment on national television. However, now and then our emotions take over and we, for better or worse, blurred out how we feel and what we are thinking at that time. Both of their feelings matter and are understandable.
00:16:17
Speaker
January 12, 2011 was Felicia's 17th birthday, which was spent by police officers exploring garbage cans and dumpsters around Dina's apartment complex. At the end of the day, they had found nothing new. They were highly frustrated and unsatisfied that the investigation kept hitting dead ends.
00:16:42
Speaker
The police, detectives, FBI, and everyone involved were basically back where they started.
00:16:50
Speaker
Thousands of people had been given Felicia's missing person flyers and a radio station company called Clear Channel Broadcasting even donated to have billboards all along Interstate 95 from Baltimore to New York with Felicia's picture and the 24-7 nationwide hotline to call with any information.
00:17:16
Speaker
At this point in the hunt for Felicia, they were relying on the public heavily because they believed there could not be at least one person, if not more, that knew something. A police spokesperson was asked if the case was turning into a cold case, and he responded, we're starting to fear for the worst.
00:17:42
Speaker
January 28, 2011, Felicia had officially been missing for a month. A prayer vigil was held for her, and the reward money for information that would lead to solving this mystery increased to $25,000 thanks to a foundation at Felicia's high school that helped students in need.
00:18:04
Speaker
Now, everyone was hoping that since the reward money was significantly higher, that it would entice someone to come forward. Janice had moved from Monroe, North Carolina to Atlanta, Georgia to be closer to family during this difficult time. She would drive to Baltimore often and attend news conferences, begging for people to do the right thing and tell what they know.
00:18:33
Speaker
The love from everyone at her high school was still going strong. Students had gone around the community hanging purple ribbons on the trees. They'd also hung them on the doors and walls inside and around the school. Their spirit rock had been painted purple and they wrote on it, Felicia, we love you.
00:18:57
Speaker
Going even further, there was a program where students played music, read their poetry, and any thoughts they had written about Felicia and her disappearance. There was a Facebook page created called Pray for Felicia Barnes, and within days, 19,000 people had liked, followed, and left many messages of support on the page.
00:19:24
Speaker
The 28th had marked one month of Felicia's disappearance and her mother attended a news conference where she read a poem about her daughter. Afterwards, she said she loved Felicia and she was waiting for her. The week prior, police had drained a well and went to a property in southwest Baltimore, foraging a huge shed top to bottom.
00:19:50
Speaker
In February, six detectives who had the highest arrest and conviction rates were still at it, and police said they were not letting up or scaling back at all. They even pulled officers off of other cases to work on finding Felicia.
00:20:09
Speaker
The police were disappointed at the lack of media coverage concerning Felicia because missing black people and people of color most of the time don't get as much national coverage as white girls and women.
00:20:24
Speaker
Seven years before Felicia went missing, Natalie Holloway, a teenager from Alabama, had disappeared in Aruba, which received a lot of media coverage, as well as the more recent disappearance of Tennessee nursing student Holly Bobo. Law enforcement called Felicia Barnes, there Natalie Holloway. A police officer told the news, regarding other news stories being covered,
00:20:54
Speaker
Quote, birds are falling out of the sky in Arkansas and two headed calves, but this girl may lose her life. Everyone was outraged about the lack of national coverage.
Homicide Discovery and Investigation
00:21:08
Speaker
At this point, admittedly, Felicia's relatives were hesitant about doing interviews because Janice and Russell were estranged and they didn't want to even accidentally cause any conflict there because everyone had their own opinions and speculations about what may have happened at Dina's apartment.
00:21:31
Speaker
Russell did criticize Janice about focusing on alcohol and what Dina allows in her home and stated with tears in his eyes, I just want to pray to God that my beautiful daughter is all right and that she will be found. As the days and months went by, the police were fearing the worst. In April, the worst scenario imaginable became a tragic reality.
00:22:01
Speaker
On April 20, 2011, around 7.30 in the morning, employees who worked at the Conawingo Dam found a female's deceased body, nude, in the Susquehanna River, 35 miles from Baltimore, in Harford County. The workers called state troopers and investigators came out as well.
00:22:26
Speaker
A few hours later, a few miles from the female's body downstream, investigators discovered a deceased black male who was also nude. There was not a trace of evidence attached to their bodies when they were discovered. Dental records confirmed the female was Felicia Barnes.
00:22:49
Speaker
Felicia's body and the male's body were immediately taken to have their first autopsies performed. Authorities found out the next day that the first autopsy concluded the cause of their deaths could not be determined. The medical examiner did tell police it was possible that Felicia's body could have been in that river the same day she went missing.
00:23:15
Speaker
The water in the river was so cold, it could have kept her body intact for that long. The pace of the river's current, which was quite rapid since floodgates had been opened during the time she disappeared, was an issue. It would be harder to find out where exactly Felicia's body had actually been placed in the river to begin with.
00:23:42
Speaker
There were not any visible injuries or lacerations on Felicia's body. There was also no physical evidence that connected Felicia's death to the males, except that their bodies were found close to each other. The six foot tall 240 pound male had yet to be identified, but the police were still trying through fingerprint records.
00:24:08
Speaker
Only a few weeks before, on April 9, while searching for Felicia, another deceased male's body was found as well. There was also nothing there linking their deaths together.
00:24:22
Speaker
Baltimore police commissioner Frederick Bielfeld told reporters, quote, we're now at stage one of a new phase of the investigation. There's a mountain of investigative work that needs to be done. All of us have been praying and hopeful for a different outcome.
00:24:43
Speaker
Our goal simply is to bring closure to Felicia Barnes's family and find out what happened and hold those responsible accountable. As expected, the family was devastated and at the time did not want to talk about it publicly. Police did say that telling Janice her daughter had been found but not alive was the worst experience.
00:25:11
Speaker
Quote, It's the worst possible news you can give any mother. It's the last bit of news they ever want to hear. Before Felicia's body was found, Dina's ex-boyfriend and a few others had hired lawyers which caused a lot of speculation from the public and Felicia's parents.
00:25:34
Speaker
Russell did tell a North Carolina news station that he did not want to believe any of the rumors and gossip that he was hearing was true about Dina's ex-boyfriend being involved with his daughter's death. Step one of finding Felicia was done. Police and investigators were now determined to solve her case.
00:25:59
Speaker
A vigil was held on April 28 and almost everyone who attended had white or purple candles in honor and remembrance of Felicia. Russell told the crowd, quote, We're just still devastated by this. It's been definitely a trying time and it's not over.
00:26:21
Speaker
The man's body who was found near Felicia's was identified. The man was 53-year-old Darrell Harper from Richmond, Virginia and had been reported missing a few months after Felicia's disappearance. Investigators came to the conclusion that their deaths were not related. In May, Felicia's death was officially confirmed a homicide.
00:26:48
Speaker
However, the cause of death was not released because it potentially would hurt the investigation. There were specific details that only the person who killed her would know. If and when there were suspects, they did not want the details of her death to be known to anyone. Police said when the time was right, they would make her cause of death public knowledge.
00:27:16
Speaker
May 7th, the Barnes family was able to lay Felicia to rest. Her funeral took place at a church in Conyers, Georgia. By July 2011, FBI were then pursuing warrants for Felicia's Facebook and email accounts, as well as the social media and email accounts of four men in Baltimore. There was explosive news.
00:27:46
Speaker
Investigators had reasons to believe that once they had access to her social media and emails, they would find proof of sexual exploitation of a child or child pornography. After they gained access to the accounts, pictures were discovered that had been taken during a party that took place at Dina's apartment.
00:28:12
Speaker
Felicia, along with Dina's ex-boyfriend Michael Johnson, were nude, streaking with a group of other people, according to Michael's attorney, and he was questioned about it. His attorney also claimed the pictures were taken at Dina's apartment the night of Felicia's disappearance, and in the photos, he said there were people running around the apartment inside and outside with no clothes on.
00:28:41
Speaker
Michael Johnson's attorney claimed the search warrants acquired by the FBI were merely a method being used to apply pressure on Michael and scare him to imply that he had done something wrong.
00:28:56
Speaker
Felicia's father, Russell, spoke to the Baltimore Sun newspaper about the fact that Michael had told him and his family since day one of Felicia's disappearance that he was the last one to see her asleep on the couch when he left the apartment that morning. The reward now for information that led to solving Felicia's case was over $35,000.
00:29:25
Speaker
Investigators were not going to waste any time and resume their work alongside 12 homicide detectives and the city police. After months went by and the one-year mark of Felicia's disappearance had arrived, Dina's ex-boyfriend Michael had been questioned repeatedly.
00:29:47
Speaker
His lawyer was furious with the police for not having any leads, asserting that they were squandering their time on a dead end because Michael was innocent. Police begged to differ, saying they were making progress, but they couldn't give away exactly what that entailed.
00:30:09
Speaker
Russell said Michael Johnson's attorney was simply saying those things about the police not making any headway in an attempt to distract and deflect. Russell and his family felt confident and hopeful about the reports they were receiving from detectives. Michael maintained his innocence and confidently kept saying he had nothing at all to hide.
00:30:36
Speaker
Law enforcement had taken DNA from Michael, he had been questioned for countless hours, followed up with, and police randomly would show up at his job. He was consistently cooperative. However, no charges could be made because they did not have any solid evidence.
00:30:58
Speaker
Felicia and her family had a relative that was a police officer in Baltimore, and at that point claims were being made that this relative, Sergeant Robert Jackson, who was Russell's brother, went to Dina's apartment the night Felicia had been reported missing and questioned people.
00:31:19
Speaker
Russell said that Robert had only gone there because that is his brother, and no matter what his job title had been, he would have called him to go to the apartment. There was never any indication that anything inappropriate was done by Sergeant Robert Jackson, but suddenly Michael Johnson and his attorney were bringing this up.
00:31:44
Speaker
On December 28, 2011, it had been a year that anyone had last seen Felicia alive. Her family gathered in Park Heights at Brown's Memorial Baptist Church in Baltimore with almost 80 attendees holding a call to action. The Barnes family wanted to shine a light not only on Felicia's case, but also others who were missing and or exploited.
00:32:13
Speaker
Two candles were lit by the family, one purple for Felicia and one white for others sadly missing. The Reverend told them that it was okay to cry and that one day justice would prevail. The Reverend also said that Felicia's story had touched everyone and, in any tragic circumstance in the world, victories could happen.
00:32:41
Speaker
In March of 2012, WBAL-TV reported on what was hopefully going to be a new law called Felicia's Law. The bill would raise the age that law enforcement should consider a child critically missing from the ages of 14 to 17.
00:33:02
Speaker
Baltimore City delegate Jill Carter said, quote, Felicia Barnes shined a light on what was lacking between law enforcement, volunteers and work with experts. What this bill would do is require an immediate action plan, a presumption that there is a need to act swiftly.
00:33:25
Speaker
WBAL-TV reported that the Maryland State Police would keep a list of volunteer organizations that would assist with searches. They would also make the list available to local jurisdictions, which could maintain primary control over the investigation. Russell told the news station, quote, We need this. We need it now, before we start missing more children.
00:33:55
Speaker
The Barnes family supported the new bill because it would improve cooperation and collaboration when a child cannot be found. The House Judiciary Committee was to vote on the bill soon.
Arrest and Trial of Michael Johnson
00:34:09
Speaker
Then it would be sent to Maryland's House and Senate.
00:34:13
Speaker
Don Rondo, a volunteer searcher who had also pushed hard for Felicia's law, said, quote, At some point we've got to send a signal to politicians, predators, police and everyone else that it's not going to be business as usual anymore. All children are valuable and that includes African-American children.
00:34:39
Speaker
A month later, the bill passed and was officially a part of Maryland legislature. There are many laws around the country named for high profile missing children, but the Black and Missing Foundation stated this bill, named for Felicia Barnes, who was black, could be the first named for a missing minority child. This bill passing was a huge win for everyone.
00:35:09
Speaker
On April 20, something very unpredictable and shattering happened. One of the lead detectives on Felicia's case, Detective Daniel Thomas Nicholson IV, his daughter, Mariah, went missing.
00:35:26
Speaker
Knowing the possible consequences of his actions, the detective violated the rules by going rogue, using his badge to raid homes and perform searches inside and outside of those homes unauthorized. He was let go from Felicia's case and suspended from all of his duties.
00:35:49
Speaker
Daniel became the subject of a criminal investigation for the violations and residents of one home called the police saying they had been assaulted by the detective. The police said they hold all individuals accountable. That's what they were committed to doing, no matter who it was, even if it was one of their own.
00:36:13
Speaker
Apparently, back in September of 2011, Detective Nicholson had been charged for assaulting his daughter Mariah with a coaxial cable because he was angry about her communications with a boy on Facebook. The charges were dropped since their family agreed they would start attending counseling.
00:36:36
Speaker
When Mariah ran away in April, it was after an argument about her grades in social media. Mariah was thankfully found soon after unharmed.
00:36:49
Speaker
One week later, Baltimore police had a suspect in custody. They arrested Dina's ex-boyfriend, 28-year-old Michael Maurice Johnson, after police said he took off running and had to be taken to the ground. A federal agent punched him and other officers were kicking him throughout his arrest, which explains the cuts on his face in his mugshot.
00:37:16
Speaker
He was charged with one count of first degree murder. Other than this, he appeared to have a squeaky clean record. Russell told reporters, quote, this is what we've been waiting for. It's been a long time coming. It's a bittersweet day.
00:37:36
Speaker
Felicia's uncle, 54-year-old Harry Watson, while sporting a purple ribbon for Felicia, said, quote, Every day I got up with the same thing in mind. When will they make an arrest? Felicia's brother Brian was at the news conference wearing a pendant with Felicia's picture that a sweet stranger who had been following Felicia's case had given him.
00:38:04
Speaker
Michael Johnson was no stranger to the family. He and Dina had been together for about 10 years before they decided to each go their own ways. He was in the process of moving his things out of the apartment.
00:38:19
Speaker
Michael played basketball often with Brian. He even went on family trips and attended family gatherings because he was thought of as part of their family. Family members even said he considered Felicia his little sister. Law enforcement did not give much information about the case they had made against Michael, only saying at this time they did hope this would bring some amount of closure to Felicia's family.
00:38:50
Speaker
Michael told his attorney he was innocent and had not done anything wrong and would fight this to the very end. His attorney was of the belief that police sped up their case to take the attention off of their issues with Detective Daniel Nicholson and his suspension. Also, charging Michael with a single count indictment pointed to police having purely circumstantial evidence in his attorney's opinion.
00:39:19
Speaker
Usually, there are other charges included for authorities to fall back on in case a conviction fails. Typically, there are charges of manslaughter, assault, among others just in case there is any reasonable doubt the result of the victim's death is murder in the first degree. It was unusual, even to legal experts, to only be indicted on one charge, especially first-degree murder.
00:39:50
Speaker
Michael's attorney said police had Michael in their sights from day one. Allegedly, authorities told him that it was only a matter of time before they would get him. During the course of the 16-month investigation, Michael met several times with homicide detectives, gave DNA samples. His family had been questioned, his car had been searched, and he had been very cooperative until his arrest.
00:40:20
Speaker
The prosecutor did fire back regarding the strong assumptions from Michael's attorney about them indicting Michael to deflect from what was happening with the suspended detective. Quote, If I thought for a moment that the alleged activity impacted the case, we would not have brought it.
00:40:40
Speaker
He also said what was happening with the detective was an entirely separate matter that did not and would not bear any influence on their case against Michael. Felicia's dad was posting to Facebook about the new developments and Felicia's whole family was rejoicing. Russell was certain Felicia's law helped a lot to put his daughter's case back into the eyes of the public.
00:41:09
Speaker
Even though the family was glad an arrest had been made, Russell made it clear that no one in Baltimore knew Felicia except her family. Michael was also a part of their lives, practically a part of their family. Russell said they were going to let the evidence and facts speak for themselves, concluding that justice would be dealt with.
00:41:34
Speaker
Michael Johnson's hearing occurred on April 27, 2012. State attorneys unveiled in court their belief was Michael took Felicia's life inside of Dina's apartment by asphyxiation. Then, he put her body in a 35-gallon plastic tub to transport her to the river.
00:41:56
Speaker
The state also revealed Felicia and Michael had texted each other at least 1,300 times over the last few months leading up to her murder. Felicia even told a family member, allegedly, that Michael made her feel uncomfortable. Security camera footage showed Michael purchasing a plastic tub at a Walmart.
00:42:23
Speaker
A neighbor came forward to police over the summer, revealing to them they saw Michael having a difficult time grunting and sweating as he tried to get the plastic tub out of Dina's apartment and to the bottom of the flight of stairs.
00:42:41
Speaker
At the hearing, the judge ordered that Michael would be kept in custody without bail. They couldn't take any chances when it came to offering any amount that would lead to him being bailed out because he reportedly had conversations with people about dashing off to another country if he did get charged. The springtime, summertime, and fall seasons came and went while the state was at work building their case against Michael.
00:43:11
Speaker
When winter time of 2012 arrived, exactly two years after Felicia's death, state attorneys filed a motion that was alarming and quite shocking.
00:43:24
Speaker
At the upcoming trial, scheduled for late January, prosecutors planned to play a video they found of Felicia while she was inebriated and taking part in sexual activities with Michael Johnson, his younger brother, and her sister Dina. This was the first time this had been made public information since the first mention of exploitation of a child and child pornography the year before.
00:43:54
Speaker
The video was discovered on Dina's phone and was over 16 minutes long. The prosecutors requested that the courtroom not be opened only while this video was being played at the trial since Felicia and Michael's younger brother were both minors.
00:44:15
Speaker
However, one of Michael's attorneys said they were going to contest the state's motion to have the courtroom closed, saying the community had a right to view any and all evidence.
00:44:28
Speaker
The defense attorney also said the video would let people see the relationships between the four of them during that time. Even though it was the state's exhibit, Michael's attorneys thought the video was actually significant to Michael's defense and would dispel the allegation that Felicia was uncomfortable around him.
00:44:52
Speaker
Michael's defense team filed a notice themselves about calling a witness named Robert Fields, who went to the police during the investigation, saying he spotted Felicia in Cecil County after she had been reported missing.
00:45:09
Speaker
In response, the state fired back at the defense's motion, saying Roberts should not be allowed to testify, because this was only a strategy by the defense to stall, since they didn't give them enough time to investigate this Roberts field.
00:45:26
Speaker
and the information that he gave to the police. Quote, one month is not sufficient time to adequately investigate this witness, as well as review the dozens of phone records, thousands of documents, and numerous witnesses to determine what, if any connection, this witness has to Michael Johnson. That is particularly true in light of the fact that this witness
00:45:52
Speaker
called in to the tip line and gave different information to the police than he appears to be giving in the transcript provided to the state. One more motion filed by the defense went after Detective Daniel Nicholson's credibility. Since he was the lead detective in the case who had gotten suspended violating protocol, their argument was that he could have used
00:46:18
Speaker
inappropriate tactics while searching for Felicia. The motions were argued in early January 2013. It was ruled that the sexual video, which included minors, was to be played in open court for everyone. On January 22, 2013, the trial began and Michael entered a plea of not guilty.
00:46:45
Speaker
Felicia's mother had not been commenting much publicly on everything that was happening. Before the trial started, Felicia's father said, we're going to make sure we do all we can do to get justice for Felicia. I've been in contact with everybody. I haven't taken my fingers off of anything.
00:47:08
Speaker
Don Rondo, again a volunteer searcher who made friends with the Barnes family, said he believed this trial would display the dangers of teenagers getting tangled up in adult situations. Quote, Do we want minor children socializing with adults in the way that's been reported? I think the answer is no.
00:47:31
Speaker
It wasn't too far along into the trial that the graphic video was shown to the jury. The people seated in the courtroom as spectators could hear the video, but the monitors were faced away so they could not see it. They could hear the kissing noises, the laughter, and the joking around.
00:47:52
Speaker
Prosecutors were sure this video would allow the jury to see there was a turning point in the video, which would have been a potential motive that led to Michael murdering Felicia. Some of the video was of Felicia and Michael making out completely nude, touching each other near a school.
00:48:15
Speaker
It also involved sexual activity between Felicia, Dina, Michael and Michael's brother, and another relative of Michael's who was a minor as well. There was a male recording all of this with Dina's phone, and you could hear him say he felt left out.
00:48:35
Speaker
There were moments where Dana and Michael were kissing, but while doing so, Michael never took his eyes off of Felicia. When Dana testified, she broke down on the stand, explaining how she told Felicia it was fine if she drank alcohol.
00:48:52
Speaker
how she permitted her sister to get naked, let her smoke marijuana, allowed her to spend the night in the room with boys, and referring to the video, she said they had planned to go streaking around a high school nearby. An assistant state attorney asked Dina, why did you allow your 16 year old sister to participate in this video? Why?
00:49:19
Speaker
And Dana responded, there's no reason. The attorney asked her, what were you thinking at that time? And Dana said, I wasn't.
00:49:31
Speaker
Dina testified that from her bedroom, you could see into the bathroom. She said she witnessed her sister and Michael in the bathroom, where he proceeded to grab on Felicia's genitals, being very handsy with her. And Felicia would do the move that a lot of girls and women have likely done at some point
00:49:54
Speaker
when we are uncomfortable, but don't want to risk pissing the man off, which was laughing and pushing his hands off of her at the time. Dina said this was all unnerving to her, so she confronted Michael about it. Quote, I asked him, did you just try to touch my sister? After she saw what he did with her own eyes, he looked at her and said no.
00:50:20
Speaker
She asked him again and he denied it. She also asked Felicia about it but never said or maybe it just wasn't published what Felicia's answer was.
00:50:33
Speaker
Dina contemplated calling their father and discussing all of this with him, but she didn't do it because she said she was too scared. Scared that she would not be able to see Felicia anymore if she told her father about this happening in her apartment, which would devastate her and tear her world apart. She feared Felicia would never be able to come visit her again, and she couldn't bear the thought of that.
00:51:02
Speaker
Prosecutors said that this was not the first time Dina provided alcohol for her sister. Felicia had traveled from Monroe, North Carolina to Baltimore, Maryland on quite a few occasions and she had always allowed Felicia to drink. Dina thought of Felicia and treated her more like another adult friend than her underage little sister.
00:51:29
Speaker
Another vital witness was James Lee McCray, who was in jail at the time on charges not related to the case.
00:51:39
Speaker
He testified that Michael had supposedly called him and confessed to raping Felicia and then strangling her to death because she would not stop crying. James said he gave Michael advice about what to do with Felicia's body. He said he saw Felicia's deceased body and claimed Michael asked him to help with getting rid of her body.
00:52:03
Speaker
Michael's attorneys went at James pretty hard. There were some discrepancies such as not being right about which floor the apartment was on and the date of the murder. Quote, you're not going to forget the date and time for something that was so significant in your life.
00:52:23
Speaker
On February 12, 2013, closing arguments were made. The defense argued that the state did not present any evidence that was not circumstantial to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Michael Johnson killed Felicia Barnes. One defense attorney told the jurors, quote, the who, what, when, where, or why doesn't make any sense.
00:52:52
Speaker
They also argued that when Michael was seen trying to move the plastic storage container, he had put various items of his inside of it as he was still gathering up his things, moving out.
00:53:06
Speaker
They criticized the police investigation, saying sheets on the beds at the apartment were never checked for DNA. And by the time they started trying to find DNA and other details, the bedsheets would have been contaminated.
00:53:23
Speaker
A state attorney encouraged the jury to really look at all of the evidence provided, and they would see it all aimed directly to Michael being guilty. Also adding that Michael refused to help in any searches for Felicia and was the final person to see her alive, quote, We have a grown man thinking of a 16-year-old girl an awful lot.
00:53:51
Speaker
Prosecutors suspected that Michael likely got heated when Felicia rejected his advances and may have gotten so angry he even killed her. In response, the defense stated Michael had no motive to take Felicia's young life, but someone else did. That someone being her own sister, Dina.
00:54:16
Speaker
The defense tried to paint Dina as a bitter, envious sister who was unhappy that her ex-boyfriend and Felicia were flirty with each other and seemingly were forming some kind of relationship right in front of her. When the jury of six men and six women went back to deliberate, they spent about two hours discussing the case. They would have to go through documents and evidence.
00:54:45
Speaker
At this point, they could find Michael guilty of second degree murder, first degree murder, or not guilty at all. The judge eventually interrupted and told them to go home for the night and get some rest. After court, Russell said he wanted a little bit of closure to come from this.
00:55:07
Speaker
He had hoped there was going to be a verdict that day, but he firmly planted his feet down in Baltimore and would stay there until everything was done. Russell and his family were intending to take the tough, somber trip to the Susquehanna River after the trial was over so they could pay their respects. When asked how he was doing, he answered, quote, we're hanging in there. We have to. She's my baby.
00:55:37
Speaker
On February 6, 2013, the jury had come to their conclusion.
Legal Battles and Ongoing Pursuit of Justice
00:55:43
Speaker
They acquitted Michael on the charge of first-degree murder. However, they did find him guilty of second-degree murder, which would be up to 30 years in prison. As the verdict was being announced, Michael stood in the courtroom with his eyes closed and nonreactive. Felicia's family finally felt that they were receiving a little closure
00:56:07
Speaker
after over two years. Felicia's mother Janice spoke out. She said she just couldn't find any peace at all after suffering the loss of her daughter. Russell told reporters that he could only hope that the murder of his daughter would avert future tragedies from happening.
00:56:29
Speaker
Quote, Felicia's law will change a lot of things around, how we conduct business in the state as far as how we handle missing children and runaways. You guys can stick with us, working with Felicia's law and making sure things like this do not happen again. Michael's sentencing date was scheduled for March 20th, but things didn't go quite as anyone would expect.
00:56:59
Speaker
Instead of being sentenced, Michael Johnson was ordered a new trial by the judge because the defense attorneys did not obtain some of the information the prosecution had until after Michael had been convicted.
00:57:15
Speaker
This information was about key witness, inmate, and jailhouse snitch, James McCray. The state had not given the defense lawyers James' record pertaining to his participation in another case until it was too late. Those documents would raise questions about how reliable James truly was.
00:57:40
Speaker
One year and a half later, the retrial started on December 6, 2014. The prosecution definitely did not want James back on the stand as a witness, even though his testimony was the only thing they had linking Michael to a murder scene.
00:58:00
Speaker
They did not want to risk it even though they believed James was not lying because he apparently knew a lot of information that he could not have made up. Alas, without James testifying, the state attorneys only had a case that was circumstantial. They were going to set their sights on asking questions about the text messages and any other communications Michael had with Felicia.
00:58:30
Speaker
They also wanted to know why, if he cared about the Barnes family so much, why he did not help them during their search efforts not one single time. The prosecution would also focus on the plastic storage tub that they believe Felicia's body was in. For this trial, Michael had different defense attorneys who filed over 30 motions in the case.
00:58:59
Speaker
One of the motions requested that prosecuting attorneys would excuse themselves from the case and another motion asking that the jurors sit on a different side of the courtroom so they could hear the defense's arguments more clearly. The judge shut down most of the motions the defense team filed.
00:59:21
Speaker
After doing so, the defense team filed another motion requesting that the judge take himself off of the case because they believed he was coming into it biased against them. The judge also rejected that motion.
00:59:38
Speaker
For the opening statements, the defense stated, quote, When you listen to everything presented to you, there is no credible evidence that Michael Johnson murdered Felicia Barnes. There's no motive for this crime. It's not right by Felicia Barnes' family or Felicia Barnes herself to convict the wrong man.
01:00:01
Speaker
They also spoke about how his cell phone records and pins were not anywhere around Harford County where Felicia's body was found. One of the prosecutors opened by saying, quote, The events of that night, the evidence will show, change the relationships for everyone in that group. The prosecutor even pointed out that their case against Michael fell short of physical evidence.
01:00:30
Speaker
Quote, We're not able to give you how the body ended up in that debris pit. That is a mystery we have never been able to solve. But the evidence will show you the mystery that was solved is who murdered Felicia Barnes. Michael Johnson murdered Felicia Barnes.
01:00:52
Speaker
The defense stated that police enforced a lot of pressure tactics on Michael and his family to further their theory that Michael killed Felicia. As well as how there's no evidence provided that placed Michael at the Susquehanna River and the text messages he sent to Felicia were not inappropriate.
01:01:15
Speaker
By December 23, it was announced that Michael was on his way to a third trial because the judge found that an error by the prosecution had damaged the case they exhibited to the jurors. The defense attorneys filed a motion for a mistrial on the grounds that material that was not to be shown to the jury was.
01:01:41
Speaker
This happened two weeks into testimonies after the prosecution rested and it was the defense's turn to give their presentation. Due to a gag order on all of the attorneys, they could not comment on what caused the mistrial.
01:01:59
Speaker
Newspapers reported that it seemed to have something to do with the wiretapped phone conversations between Michael and others that the prosecution let the jury hear. During one of the calls, Michael was talking about DNA being found under Felicia's fingernails because they had been wrestling around the day she went missing.
01:02:24
Speaker
He also talked about fleeing the country. Quote, I feel like everything is about to hit the fan. I don't know if I'm ready to deal with it. I still have options, not many, but I feel like I should pack up and leave. I don't want to, but that's how I feel. I mean, leave this country, babe. The defense argued that those were the words of a man distressed over a police investigation that was wrongly focused on him.
01:02:55
Speaker
On another call, playing for the jury included Michael saying, quote, first degree murder is with an intent. And right there, the defense objected and that caused a long delay. The judge declared that there were two instances where the jury heard unacceptable information, but he didn't think the error was at all on purpose or was a result to gross negligence.
01:03:24
Speaker
He felt the prosecutors were genuinely shocked that this was an error and they truly didn't know they were doing anything wrong. The grand jury proceedings were already in motion when the calls were being recorded. A state trooper said, summoning the grand jury was a strategy to catch Michael discussing the case.
01:03:47
Speaker
Michael was being held without bail and awaiting a new trial date, even though his defense attorneys did not think the state should be permitted to try him for a third time.
01:03:59
Speaker
Five jurors were interviewed after the mistrial and said they would have voted in favor of acquitting Michael based on what the prosecutors presented to them. One juror said, quote, the evidence wasn't there at all to me. It was a weak case.
01:04:18
Speaker
Outside of the courthouse, Felicia's father could only shake his head, saying, let's do it all over again. As long as Michael stays in jail, we'll do it all over again till we get it right. Michael's family was deeply impacted by this too. In their eyes, they were having to watch their loved one sit in jail for two years and go through these trials for something they wholeheartedly believed he did not do.
01:04:48
Speaker
Michael's father, Glinton Johnson Sr., stated he was happy that the judge had seen through what the state was doing. Michael's family saw this process as prosecutors and law enforcement trying their hardest to distort the evidence towards a conviction. On January 21, 2015, it was made publicly known that the charges against Michael Johnson had been dropped.
01:05:17
Speaker
The defender's office asserted they firmly stood by the court's decision, believed they did the right thing, and justice was done. Also, they declared the state could not even prove any crime had been committed by Michael. Quote, there was insufficient evidence of where she died, how she died, and what manner she died.
01:05:41
Speaker
The state attorneys told the judge they didn't have a motive and didn't need one because there was no boogeyman out there who took Felicia Barnes and all evidence and circumstances led to Michael Johnson. The judge said that the case and their presentation was intriguing but lacked direct evidence connecting him to her death. Quote, there was no smoking gun.
01:06:08
Speaker
Russell was absolutely disappointed about the decision and said he felt as if he had been run over by a train. He felt the judicial system had failed his daughter and the whole process appeared to him to be all in Michael Johnson's favor. He was also let down by the fact particular evidence he deemed vital was never admitted.
01:06:33
Speaker
Russell said, in his mind, they had let a child predator go free, but that would never steer them away from getting justice for Felicia. They were going to keep pursuing Michael, who Russell declared a child killer who had been allowed back on the streets of Baltimore.
01:06:52
Speaker
Felicia's sister Dina said, quote, I can't even describe how painful it is, but ultimately the thing that's the most painful, no matter what I've been through, is that I don't have a sister. She was my best friend and I don't have her.
01:07:10
Speaker
Michael's mother, Rhonda, who is also a retired city police officer, said this case against her son had been a nightmare for their family, and the acquittal was wonderful news. Michael told news reporters it felt good to be out. A defense lawyer put out a statement, saying, quote, this case was a tragedy for everyone in the Barnes and Johnson families.
01:07:39
Speaker
Ms. Barnes was a lovely, vibrant young woman. However, Mr. Johnson has maintained his innocence from day one of this entire case, and we are very thankful that justice was done. Over a year went by, and in June of 2016, reports emerged that a special appeals court overturned Michael's acquittal and he would be tried again.
01:08:07
Speaker
The following month, Michael appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, attempting not to be put on trial again. An assistant public defender filed a petition with the Supreme Court stating, quote, the government with its vast resources ought not be permitted to try him yet again after the trial judge explicitly found that the evidence was legally insufficient to establish that he was the criminal agent.
01:08:38
Speaker
Michael was put on pretrial supervision while he was on release awaiting a new trial that had been set for March of 2018. On March 7, 2018, the trial began and the state's opening statements were focused on the obsession Michael had with Felicia. The thousands of text messages that became more frequent as time went on while he was dating her sister Dina.
01:09:08
Speaker
Then, when the incident that was videotaped happened, that's the moment the state claimed that Michael was at the height of his obsession with Felicia. While talking, the prosecutor would look Michael right in the eye at times and stood in front of him. The defense attorney's arguments were based on lack of evidence and claimed there was a more rational and logical explanation.
01:09:35
Speaker
Felicia, quote, left voluntarily for her own innocent reasons and something bad happened. Dina had a blue plastic storage bin and testified the second day of trial.
01:09:49
Speaker
When asked if she had ever gotten inside of the tote, she said yes. She did climb inside of it around the time Felicia went missing and police were wondering if she could fit inside. She said her sister was taller than her and a little bit slimmer. Dina did fit inside of the plastic storage bin, presumably around the same size as the one Michael bought with police putting the lid on top of it.
01:10:19
Speaker
There were conflicting testimonies from Dina about where the plastic storage bin actually was located or if she even knew. And without that storage tub, no cell phone pings around the county the river was in, and no DNA evidence, the prosecution's argument had little to stand on.
01:10:43
Speaker
A twist of events happened on March 30, 2018, when the judge acquitted Michael. The judge made the ruling after doubting the circumstantial evidence that the prosecution hypothesized but couldn't prove regarding Felicia's body potentially being in the plastic storage tub. This ruling could not be appealed.
01:11:07
Speaker
Quote, the bottom line is that there are far, far too many questions left unanswered for any fact finder to find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
01:11:19
Speaker
Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby told WJZ News, quote, we never wavered in our pursuit of justice for the Barnes family and the innocent child that tragically lost her life. We believed based on the evidence presented to us that we were pursuing the individual responsible for her murder.
Legacy and Community Support
01:11:42
Speaker
But the justice system has run its course and we must now respect the court's decision.
01:11:49
Speaker
One of Michael's defense attorneys made a statement saying, quote, we have at all times asserted Michael Johnson's complete innocence. We grieve for the Barnes family and this tragedy, but convicting an innocent man is not justice for Felicia Barnes. We hope that one day what really happened to Felicia Barnes will be discovered and her family will get the peace that they deserve.
01:12:18
Speaker
Michael decided to file a claim to the tune of $750,000 against one of the homicide investigators that had worked on the case.
01:12:30
Speaker
In 2020, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children tweeted about Purple Tuesday. Felicia went missing on a Tuesday and Russell said they wear purple every Tuesday to honor her memory. Therefore, the tweet was asking everyone to wear purple since it was a Tuesday and to tweet their support or share a poster of a missing child and to use the hashtag purple Tuesday.
01:13:00
Speaker
Russell said, quote, Felicia was on track to graduate early from high school and was looking forward to a great future. Her goal was to become a teacher or a counselor. Felicia loved working with children. She was accepted into Townsend University outside of Baltimore, Maryland to pursue a degree in early childhood education.
01:13:25
Speaker
Unfortunately, Felicia never had the chance to read her acceptance letter. Tragically, she went missing on Tuesday, December 28, 2010, and her body was found nearly four months later. Our family was devastated when she disappeared, and on Tuesdays, the day she went missing, we would always wear purple, Felicia's favorite color.
01:13:50
Speaker
This day became Purple Tuesday. Her loss was heartbreaking and I'm still numb to this day. But we want to keep Purple Tuesday going for all the missing children and justice for murdered youth. Felicia Barnes's case remains unsolved.
01:14:12
Speaker
My heart goes out to the Barnes family, and I, along with everyone listening and everyone who knows about Felicia's case, hopes that one day, justice will come. Thank you so much for listening to this episode about Felicia Barnes. Until next time, stay safe and take care.