The sounds of a desperate mom rang out over the airwaves as Janice Sallis-Mustafa cried pleading to the public for information that would bring young Phylicia Simone Barnes home safely to her family. I recall hearing that interview as media played a clip highlighting the disappearance of a beautiful Honors Teen who had gone missing while visiting family in Baltimore City. The night the broadcast aired I recall feeling that the story was not a typical missing persons case. I started having flashbacks about another little girl named Chanel Petro-Nixon whose body had been discovered by a sanitation crew, on a busy street corner in Brooklyn, New York, and left to rot like common trash. Like Phylicia, Chanel was a straight A Student who had gone to fill out a job application, and to hang out with friends. Chanel’s killer has never been found. Janice’ voice was filled with passion and I heard her loud and clear, cutting through me like a knife piercing through my soul down to the very fiber of my being. Her cries were a parent’s worst nightmare. I will admit I became alarmed instantly and began to fear the worst without the benefit of even Knowing the complete story. In the initial period of learning about this child’s disappearance I became extremely critical of Janice herself, after learning that young Phylicia, a 16 year from the rural south, had been allowed to travel to a gritty town like Baltimore alone, but relatively soon my ignorance was revealed when I learned the child had made several previous trips there without incident. I followed the case very closely like most concerned parents in the public, hoping and praying for the little girl’s return unharmed. Sadly, she never did make it back to her sister’s Northwest Baltimore apartment, and local Police began soliciting help from National Media. The cops made it a point to convey that Phylicia wasn’t an ordinary teenager, she had never been in any kind of trouble, and the child had no reason to run away or wonder off without contacting a member of her family. Soon after, I began reading comments posted on social media sites where people had posted concerns and suspicions about her disappearance, and cited possible involvement by the child’s sisters. I learned that her siblings had given an interview on “Peas In Their Pods”. I went to the site and listened to the Blogtalk Radio Broadcast and became disturbed instantly regarding what I heard. Without going into explicit detail related to particulars that aroused my suspicions, I’ll simply say that the subtle laughing and whispering that occurred during the interview was completely unsettling for me. I mean, the show was being aired to aid in learning the whereabouts of a child. A child that just happened to be their little sister. I walked away from that show, like other listeners I”m sure, feeling that the account offered by the child’s sisters related to the events that led up to her disappearance simply did not add up. The women’s apparent apathy coupled with the gut wrenching and very heartfelt pleas Janice had made on television, angered me. I became empathetic to some of the post I read in which the public expressed doubt in the accuracy and honesty of the sisters account about what occurred on December 28, 2010. The women were void of seriousness at times, lacked authentic grief, and their public posture was completely unacceptable in the wake of their baby sister having gone missing under their watch. I am completely unaware of what these women have told the authorities about this case, but at least during the “Peas” Interview, it appeared that they were being deceptive. Their actions or lack there of on this day were not logical, and The time line of events they offered were confusing. I don’t know what fears they may have had at the time. I don’t know if they had something to hide, but I am convinced that they both lied about what may have happened to Phylicia Simone Barnes. I began Blogging about Phylicia’s story and it appeared, baring a few updates from the media, that know one was talking about the child’s case publicly. I remember a few more “Peas In Their Pods” broadcast airing interviews with her family, but it just simply seemed the case was falling from public spotlight, while investigators quietly continued to do their work. In everything that I read and watched on the news, I continued having serious concerns of what Phylicia’s Baltimore family were saying. I began to delve further into the case analyzing aspects of the crime from the very beginning. Along the way I perused social media sites belonging to many of the males who were around during the time Phylicia went missing. To my surprise, there were a plethora of images, comments, and other interesting material that offered a perspective challenging the character, integrity, and culture among the adults supervising this young child. Eventually, my research led to me reaching out to Janice directly. What the little girl’s mom told me fueled the public’ suspicions and confirmed that there were lies told from the very start. Chiefly, Janice had been assured by Deena Barnes that upon Phylicia’s arrival there would only be her and Phylicia staying at the apartment. Janice admitted to me that she was misled after discovering that there were also three males actually staying at Deena’s while young Phylicia came to visit. Janice also confirmed rumors that individuals close to the case were in fact related to Baltimore City Police Officers. This added an extremely disturbing element to the entire ordeal that may have shed insight to the slow development of the case. The mother’s comments sparked debate on my blog and in social media as a whole, which resulted in a debut appearance by Barnes Family members who responded to some of the shocking revelations that Janice offered about the case. It was discovered later on that much of what the grieving mom said was more then likely correct and the public’ interest in the case grew. Many have come to the site as well as other forums to express their support for the Barnes Family, the Johnson males, and disputed the growing suspicion that many held of those close to Phylicia in Baltimore. There are people who have attacked me via email and comments in social media regarding the many articles that I have posted about the case. These perspectives range from, my lack of objectivity in the case, calling my motives for writing about Phylicia’s story entertainment seeking, and circus like. Through it all I’ve stayed the course on what I set out to do, keeping the little girl’s name in the public, and continuing dialogue to help find out what happened to this innocent child who died for no reason what so ever.
With that being said, I am now compelled to express my honest opinions about this senseless murder mystery. The Barnes older sisters are in fact liars, their dad has aided in their complicity to conspire a cover up of the killing of this beautiful child. Russell Barnes’ half brother Robert Jackson, a ranking Baltimore City Police Officer ran interference in the case alerting family members of details related to the investigation of this Capitol Crime. Deena Barnes’ apartment was ground zero for the murder, crime scene, and conspiracy. The lack of forensic evidence and other data at that apartment, which are typically associated with serious crimes, and the confusing accounts or lack of knowledge by those close to the child about what happened to her, clearly demonstrates a meticulous effort was made by the girl’s family and Johnson males to conceal the events that resulted in the killing of young Phylicia Barnes. I am also convinced that Federal, State, and Local authorities investigating this crime are not in the dark regarding the perspective that I describe. Though I have publicly disclosed elements that I have learned about this case, much of my discovery as not been mentioned out of fear of jeopardizing progress in the case to bring justice for Phylicia and her family that we all desire. People have inquired why the case matters so much to me, and to those inquiries I will say this. Far to long have cities like Baltimore been plagued with crime by evil, heartless, uneducated, and uncivilized individuals who are nothing more then pure trash. The kind of cowardice punks who lurk in the shadows scheming and plotting to prey on the most vulnerable within out communities. They breed within a culture of lawlessness incapable of consideration or compassion for humanity. These people derive from subcultures where alcoholism, drug usage, and violence are cultivated by their families who never loved or cared enough about them to invest in their development as productive citizens within our society. Though we realize that many crimes originate from poverty and other social disparities, the heinousness of Phylicia’s killing is nothing short of dregs from the streets, posing as wannabe thugs who picked on a defenseless female child, and their lives must be taken to rid civilization of their very memory for ever. Deena Barnes’ conduct was paramount as she condoned the exploitation of an extremely beautiful little girl, promoting Phylicia’s nudity in the presence of males whose sexual desires reached murderous lust for her natural beauty, and resulted in her killing. Brutal sex crimes and murder happen in our society all the time, but crimes that occur as the result of actions by the victim’s own family, who later seek to conceal it, reaches a new and unique level of sickness and pervertedness rarely demonstrated in modern times. I desire her spiritual and mortal demise greater than those who actually perpetrated this crime. The ability to take human life is phenomenal and we must take measures to insure that violence is eliminated from our lives. We must also consider the nature of young people in this generation, wonder how often do we see children who simply do what they are told, go to school and get good grades, and have not fallen into the lures of the streets. Phylicia Simone Barnes was not the only good kid in America, but she most certainly was of that minority. So, what happened to this child matters to me. It matters because her short life was cut down senselessly without provocation. We must protect our children, especially our female child, and those who are lurking in the shadows of evilness must be removed from the streets. To those who have displayed their displeasure with my work on the little girls case, I might suggest that you frequent blogs that promote your position, because I will not relent seeking and championing justice for this child.
David B. Adams is a journalist, crime writer, and founder of The People's Champion, a platform built on truth, justice, and advocacy for the overlooked. For over a decade, Adams has investigated wrongful convictions, missing and exploited children, homelessness, and the political forces that shape marginalized communities' lives.
What sets his work apart is a refusal to sensationalize. Adams treats crime reporting as human storytelling — pushing past headlines to examine the systemic failures in law enforcement, the courts, and government that so often go unexamined. He's built a reputation among activists and advocates for combining deep research, personal narrative, and unflinching commentary.
The People's Champion began as a personal outlet and has grown into a respected independent voice in crime and justice journalism, read by audiences nationwide who care about accountability and the people too often left out of the story.
