Teen's accused killer to go on trial for 3rd time

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Phylicia Barnes' father said Wednesday was a great day to get justice for his daughter after learning her accused killer will go to trial for a third time.

Russell Barnes is confident they will get a conviction again.

Michael Johnson strangled Phylicia Barnes in 2010 while she was visiting family in Baltimore, prosecutors said

(Phylicia Barnes)

Johnson was arrested a year after Barnes' body was found in a river four months after she disappeared. In the years that followed, a series of mistrials ended with dropped charges that left Johnson a free man.

Now there is a new hope for the victim’s family.

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“Definitely a long time coming,” the father said. “It’s a good day, a great day to get justice for Phylicia.”

The Maryland court system said Johnson should get a new trial.

The lower court ruled a judge made a procedural mistake in 2015 when he dismissed the charges.

The delays and years of waiting haven't discouraged Russell Barnes.

“Bottom line is justice,” he said. “It’s not about me. It’s not about the state, really. It’s about Phylicia’s justice.”

Barnes said he's been at every court proceeding since his daughter’s death.

He also wants justice for the people he said must have helped his daughter’s accused killer after she died.

“Don’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out, that you had to have help,” Barnes said. “So who helped and who hindered in the search for Phylicia?”

The date for Johnson’s third trial has not been set.

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