BALTIMORE, MARYLAND — A judge in Baltimore, Maryland, citing insufficient evidence, has dismissed all charges against a Baltimore man Tuesday in the murder case of a Union County teenager, according to a report from our news partners at WBAL-TV.
Michael Johnson already stood trial twice in Phylicia Barnes’ murder case.
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In December a judge declared a mistrial in the case against Johnson, Channel 9 reported.
SECTION: The Phylicia Barnes Investigation
Johnson is now free.
Johnson is accused of asphyxiating Phylicia Barnes, 16, in December 2010 while she was visiting her half-sister in Baltimore.
Her nude body was discovered floating in the Sesquehana River four months later.
Channel 9 was the first to tell Barnes' mother and her husband, Raheem Mustafa, about the mistrial ruling.
Mustafa expressed shock but said they could not comment further because of a gag order in the case.
A jury convicted Johnson on second-degree murder charges last year, but a judge overturned that conviction, ruling prosecutors withheld key information about a witness in the case.
"Whether a prosecutor can get a conviction or not will be based on the strength of the evidence," said legal expert James Wyatt.
Wyatt said the judge in Johnson's second trial noted the prosecutors' mistake was not "grossly negligent," which opens the door for a third trial.
"At some point, the state has to decide how many resources they're going to put into this case," Wyatt said.
Prosecutors will announce the date for a third trial Tuesday.