WASHINGTON — In shackles and an orange jump suit, the man accused of killing a D.C. yoga instructor appeared in court.
During the preliminary hearing, an attorney for Duane Johnson, 29, tried to convince a judge that the case against Johnson lacked probable cause and his client’s comments to police shouldn’t be believed.
Johnson is accused of killing Tricia McCauley, 46, back in December. Police say McCauley went missing on Christmas Day, while on her way to a party. Her body was found in the back of her car, outside a CVS on M Street Northwest the next day. According to investigators, inside the store they found Johnson with McCauley’s keys and was found to have used her credit cards.
During the two-hour session in front of Judge Hiram Puig-Lugo on Friday, attorney Mani Golzari told the judge that the case lacked the evidence, such as blood, which linked Johnson to the killing. The defense team also looked to poke a hole in the case, in which many points on the timeline of what happened were determined by witnesses’ statements.
When Johnson was arrested, he told police he just met McCauley and the two had consensual sex. Then he said McCauley hung herself in the car. Investigators believe Johnson strangled McCauley with a ligature.
Johnson’s attorney described his client as a man with a history of mental illness, who was suffering from a possible episode when he was arrested and questioned by police. Golzari said Johnson’s statements to investigators shouldn’t be taken seriously because they were “the ramblings of a mentally ill man.”
For the first time in court, lawyers discussed a conversation with a witness who came forward a day after McCauley’s body was found and Johnson was arrested. This witness said he rode in the car with Johnson in the early morning hours of Dec. 26 and saw McCauley unconscious in the back seat.
According to a D.C. Police homicide detective who took the stand, the witness said he tried to call police several hours later but ran out of prepaid minutes on his phone. Also, police did note that the new witness had had run-ins with the law in the past, including an attempted robbery conviction, and 19 years ago he was charged but not convicted of assault with the intent to rape while armed.
Also, according to updated court filings, a D.C. police officer reported seeing a car matching the description of McCauley’s car at 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 26 in Northeast D.C. A black male was seen getting into the car, according to the officer, along with a black female who sat in the passenger seat.
Judge Puig-Lugo said there was enough evidence to move the case forward. The judge said Johnson’s finger prints being found in the car and McCauley’s body being found tied up in back of the car are two of several reasons why there is probable cause.
The prosecution urged that Johnson be held behind bars, and the judge agreed. Johnson who is charged with first-degree felony murder, will be back in court on April 10.
