GUILTY DC - Tricia McCauley, 46, Washington DC, 25 Dec 2016

[Fidelis ex Verax]

IMO Im not buying the suspect's story. I have a Scion IQ and there isn't much room in it at all.

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[Inspector Gidget]

Not only did he commit a horrendous crime now he is saying she hanged herself in the back of the car.Exactly how do you do that.? I would love to see the judges face when this statement is presented to the court.On top of that she gave him a ride.Hell no! Prayers to the family of Tricia McAuley

 

[Indy Anna]

The Washington Post reported that a witness saw her leave her house alone and enter her vehicle about 6 p.m.: https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...03044780a02_story.html?utm_term=.491e7d38fe14.

Unless she made a stop somewhere between her residence and the site of the party*, I wonder if Johnson carjacked her while she was stopped at a traffic light. She may have seemed more vulnerable because of the size of her car and he found (IMO) her door unlocked. a

ETA: *Unless she made a stop somewhere like a store or a gas station, that is.

 

[Fidelis ex Verax]

Not only did he commit a horrendous crime now he is saying she hanged herself in the back of the car.Exactly how do you do that.? I would love to see the judges face when this statement is presented to the court.On top of that she gave him a ride.Hell no! Prayers to the family of Tricia McAuley

I dont think there is even any place to hang anything in the back, that I can recall. For instance, when I have a clothes garment bag I need to bring with me on trips, I have to lay it down flat on the back seat or attempt to hang it on the back of my front seatbelt. There are no handles or hooks.

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[Inspector Gidget]

This is one case I would love to see the death penalty.Jail is paradise for him.Homeless living on the street. cold .standing in a bread line.Stealing to have money.He wanted to be caught.He had nothing to lose.

 

[InsightfulSage]

First time posting. It seems quite obvious that Johnson has severe mental health issues. His story is outrageously unbelievable & his actions are equally bizarre (stealing 15 bars of soap?!?).

The system failed him & more importantly, it failed Tricia. I haven't noticed any outcry about how the courts let him go without the ordered monitor & failed to file a bench warrant when he did show as scheduled to get it. He has a history of at least a suspicion of mental illness and his behaviors have increased both in frequency and severity.

It is time to end the stigma and acknowledge mental illness as a very real & oftentimes very severe condition. The availability of mental health services in the US is deplorable. Mental illness can be fatal. While it's not contagious in the traditional sense, it can be fatal not only to the patient themselves, but to their family, friends, co-workers and even complete strangers.

This tragedy didn't have to happen. Her murder was senseless, but doesn't have to be meaningless (as one of her FB eloquently put). If it raises awareness for mental illness, then her loved ones can be comforted by that, because according to them that is the outlook she would want them to have.

I'm not saying he belongs on streets. Only time will tell if he knew enough that what he did was wrong and if he did, then he should be held accountable. At this point though we shouldn't rush to pass judgment.


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[dewey decimal]

Re: the amount of soap he was stealing. Soap is very easily resold on the street. I work in DC and a lot of the CVS stores here keep body wash and soap in a cabinet that is either locked or sounds an audio alert when it's opened.

 

[InsightfulSage]

Re: the amount of soap he was stealing. Soap is very easily resold on the street. I work in DC and a lot of the CVS stores here keep body wash and soap in a cabinet that is either locked or sounds an audio alert when it's opened.

Very interesting. A black market for soap?!? If that is in fact why he stole it, there is still many other factors that point to mental illness. Not sure if his issues are severe enough to hamper his ability to know right from wrong, but either way I hope this case sheds light on the need for mental healthcare reform.


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[cvaldez1975]

that is the dumbest damn story I have ever heard!

""If someone is suicidal and gives you all their stuff is that illegal?" Johnson told police, the documents read."


[FONT="]""Johnson told police that he met McCauley around or on Christmas when she offered him a ride. Then he claimed that she offered to have sex with him and that they had intercourse “on a curb somewhere,” court documents obtained by the Associated Press state."

[/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=#333333][FONT="]She supposedly told him that he could use her car and credit cards before she hanged herself inside the vehicle, the suspect alleged."

[/FONT]http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/murder-suspect-claims-actress-sex-article-1.2927066

 

[1&2&3]

Talk about a nutcase story to end the year, this is certainly the one!

However, I believe he gave away his insanity defense with his comment "it isn't illegal to give your things away if you are going to commit suicide". The guy does have a working brain as to what is right or wrong. JMO.

 

[Skigirl]

Talk about a nutcase story to end the year, this is certainly the one!

However, I believe he gave away his insanity defense with his comment "it isn't illegal to give your things away if you are going to commit suicide". The guy does have a working brain as to what is right or wrong. JMO.

Yep, and tried to cover his actions by putting things over her in the backseat so she wouldn't have been seen. Evidence of understanding that what he did was a crime. It even sounds like his family wants him in jail so he won't be a danger to anyone else. I don't think we need to worry that he's not going to prison for life, but that is little consolation to her family and friends :-(

 

[Satchie]

What a tragic story, rest in peace Tricia.

< QUOTE> Johnson's stepfather, Russell Dixon, told The Washington Post that Johnson had been living on the streets and suffered from mental problems. Dixon suggested the courts had been too lenient on his stepson.

“The court system let him go. That’s not the help he needs,” he told the Post. “He should have been held.”
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/lo...408544035.html </QUOTE>

But then the stepfather made another comment:

"Dixon told the paper he never saw signs of violence in the murder suspect."

I don't think the criminal justice system can be expected to keep people locked up, beyond the normal penalty for petty theft.* It would be a major violation of civil rights to put people in jail for being homeless and possibly mentally ill.

Obviously it's not the family's fault, but it just bothers me how quickly this happens: families point the finger of blame at the government.

 

[Jinkasaurus]

1/28/17

An attorney for the man charged in the beating death of a D.C. actress and yoga instructor argued Friday that his client did not commit the brutal killing and that detectives sought to coerce the suspect, who the lawyer said is mentally ill.

Duane Adrian Johnson, 29, is charged with murder in the killing of Tricia Lynn McCauley, who went missing on Christmas Day and was later found dead in the back seat of her white Scion. She had been beaten and strangled, and her legs had been bound with a seat belt, police said.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...9ec4b3d09ba_story.html?utm_term=.65aaa47d2b19

Next court date: April 10th

 

[InsightfulSage]

1/28/17

An attorney for the man charged in the beating death of a D.C. actress and yoga instructor argued Friday that his client did not commit the brutal killing and that detectives sought to coerce the suspect, who the lawyer said is mentally ill.

Duane Adrian Johnson, 29, is charged with murder in the killing of Tricia Lynn McCauley, who went missing on Christmas Day and was later found dead in the back seat of her white Scion. She had been beaten and strangled, and her legs had been bound with a seat belt, police said.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...9ec4b3d09ba_story.html?utm_term=.65aaa47d2b19

Next court date: April 10th

BBM - So how did he wind-up driving her car. I do think he is truly mentally ill. I don't know why the attorney is choosing to claim coercion when he probably has a very good shot with an insanity defense.


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[Jinkasaurus]

I hadn't seen this before

"A member of the DC theatre community saw the photo after it was shared on Facebook, recognized the suspect and car while walking his dog, and called the police, providing the tip that resulted in the recovery of McCauley’s body and the arrest of the suspect."

This is an interview with that man:

https://dctheatrescene.com/2017/01/...located-tricia-mccauley-systemic-failures-dc/

"Then word starts getting out about his many interactions with the criminal justice system, and the fact that officials knew he needed a mental health evaluation, and the fact that he was supposed to show up, on his own, on December 21st to get a wearable GPS monitoring device. But of course he doesn’t show up, and officials weren’t going to do anything about it until January. Then a report emerges that he would have been put under “high-intensity supervision” on the 21st, but he wasn’t because he didn’t have a verifiable address. It’s been reported that the man was homeless; he’s not going to have a verifiable address!"

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Man pleads guilty to Christmas Day killing of local actress

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/man-pleads-guilty-to-christmas-day-murder-of-local-actress/2017/09/13/e3b4fc22-9871-11e7-82e4-f1076f6d6152_story.html?utm_term=.350bf556d6e2

Duane Adrian Johnson, 30, was a stranger to Tricia McCauley, and police say he confronted her as she was headed to meet fellow members of the District’s theater scene at a holiday party. The 46-year-old McCauley never arrived, and friends began to worry and reported her missing.

McCauley’s body was later found in the back seat of her white Scion. She had been brutally beaten and strangled, and her legs had been bound with a seat belt, police said. She also had been sexually assaulted.

On Wednesday in D.C. Superior Court, Johnson pleaded guilty to first-degree felony murder. He faces a 30-year prison term when he is sentenced by Judge Hiram Puig-Lugo on Nov. 17.

 

[PastTense]

Does a 30 year sentence mean 30 years--or does it mean he can be paroled after 12 years or whatever?

 

[Skigirl]

Does a 30 year sentence mean 30 years--or does it mean he can be paroled after 12 years or whatever?

Ugh, even if not, 30 years is too little. He'll be out at 60!

 

[mewmew]

Ugh, even if not, 30 years is too little. He'll be out at 60!

I agree! I can't believe that's all he got. It's terrifying that he did these horrible things to beautiful Tricia, who was a complete stranger to him. I don't think any amount of time in prison would be enough to "rehabilitate" a person like him.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Man sentenced to 30 years in Christmas Day rape, murder of D.C. actress

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/man-to-be-sentenced-friday-in-christmas-day-rape-murder-of-dc-actress/2017/11/16/07954052-cae5-11e7-b0cf-7689a9f2d84e_story.html?utm_term=.76713073837c

Tricia Lynn McCauley was a popular Washington actress who taught yoga and herbalism and often fed neighborhood children vegetables from her Bloomingdale garden.

Duane Johnson had struggled with mental illness since he was young, his attorneys said, and had been in and out of local hospitals whenever his insurance coverage lapsed, eventually ending up homeless and abusing illegal drugs and alcohol.

Last Christmas, McCauley and Johnson crossed paths as strangers in an encounter that ended with Johnson climbing into McCauley’s car and brutally beating and raping her before strangling her with her scarf.

In D.C. Superior Court on Friday, a judge sentenced the 30-year-old Johnson to 30 years in prison after he admitted killing the 46-year-old McCauley and then driving through the city in her car with her body in the back seat.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Man-to-Be-Sentenced-for-Christmas-Day-Murder-of-DC-Yoga-Teacher-458194103.html

Johnson is set to serve 30 years in prison and will not be eligible for early release. He'll be 60 years old when he gets out. Then, he will be required to remain under court supervision until he's 90.