Suspect in Death of DC Yoga Teacher Charged With Murder

— -- A Maryland man has been charged with murder in the death of a Washington, D.C., yoga instructor and actress who was found strangled after she went missing on Christmas Day.

The cause of death was "asphyxia due to ligature strangulation with blunt force trauma," the Metropolitan Police Department said today.

After a missing person notice was released, police received a tip late Monday night, and authorities then found Tricia McCauley, 46, dead in her car, the department said. She had last been seen Sunday around 4:30 p.m.

The suspect, Adrian Duane Johnson, aka Duane Adrian Johnson, 29, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, has been charged with first-degree murder, as well as second-degree theft and simple assault, the police said.

D.C. Chief of Police Peter Newsham said police do not believe the suspect previously knew McCauley.

McCauley was a member of the Screen Actors Guild, according to ABC Washington affiliate WJLA-TV. Her brother told the station she had prepared a dish for a friend's Christmas party but never arrived at the celebration. He said the dish was left on her kitchen counter.

When McCauley died was unclear, Newsham said at a news conference this morning.

He called today's news conference "excruciatingly painful" for her family and friends.

On Monday, between 9:15 and 9:30 a.m., the victim's car and the suspect were spotted on the 700 block of Fourth Street, Newsham said. The suspect was allegedly involved in a theft at a CVS store at that location and allegedly assaulted employees there, he said.

ABC News' Lucien Bruggeman and Stephanie Ebbs contributed to this report.