WASHINGTON - Police in Washington have charged a Maryland man with first-degree murder in the death of an actress and yoga teacher who went missing on Christmas.

Metropolitan Police said in a news release that 29-year-old Adrian Duane Johnson of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was charged Tuesday. He was arrested after the body of 46-year-old Tricia McCauley of Washington was found in her car late Monday.

Authorities say an autopsy showed McCauley died from asphyxia from being strangled by a ligature and blunt force trauma.

Friends say McCauley was expected at a large Christmas dinner Sunday. When McCauley missed a flight to visit family on the West Coast, friends notified police.

Investigators don't believe McCauley and Johnson knew each other.