BALTIMORE, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Michael Johnson was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Phylicia Barnes, who disappeared in 2010 while visiting family in Baltimore.
The body of Barnes, a North Carolina teenager, was discovered in a river, choked to death, in April 2011. Johnson was arrested and charged a year later. Jurors began deliberations Monday afternoon and returned to the courtroom at noon Wednesday to deliver their verdict, WBAL-TV, Baltimore, reported.
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In closing arguments Monday, prosecutors suggested Johnson was romantically interested in Barnes and suggested he was jealous of time she spent with others. Defense lawyers said police zeroed in on Johnson to the exclusion of other possibilities.
