Murderer of Jenna Dewan Tatum's 'Step Up' Stand-in Gets 30 Years in Prison

The man who killed a Washington, D.C. yoga instructor who served as Jenna Dewan Tatum’s stand-in for the film “Step Up” was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the crime on Friday, ABC affiliate WJLA reports.

Duane Johnson, also known as Adrian Duane Johnson, pleaded guilty to first degree felony murder in connection to the Christmas 2016 killing of Tricia McCauley in September.

The U.S. attorney’s office said that McCauley left her Washington, D.C., home on Dec. 25, 2016 en route to a friend’s holiday party when she encountered Johnson, who entered her car and sexually assaulted her. McCauley attempted to fight Johnson off by kicking and punching him. Johnson eventually strangled Johnson to death with a scarf she was wearing.

Also Read: Tricia McCauley, Jenna Dewan Tatum's 'Step Up' Stand-In, Found Dead

Following McCauley’s death, Johnson put her body in the back seat of her car.

In the hours following her disappearance, police released a photo of a man they believed was driving McCauley’s car. Someone called police saying they saw McCauley’s car on Monday night, upon which authorities found the man inside a nearby CVS. The suspect gave them the keys. Upon searching the car, police found McCauley’s body, the Associated Press reported at the time.

Outside of her work on “Step Up,” which starred Channing Tatum, McCauley also acted in two short films, “The Paper Girl” and “Never Dream: The Beginning.”

9 Infamous Hollywood Murders, From Black Dahlia to Sharon Tate (Photos)

TheWrap takes a look back at some of the grisliest killings in L.A. history
1947: The brutal murder of Elizabeth Short, a 22-year-old woman nicknamed "Black Dahlia," remains one of Hollywood's most grisly unsolved crimes and has since sparked numerous TV, film and literary adaptations.
Santa Barbara Police Department
1969: Charles Manson, leader of the so-called "Manson Family," ordered the deaths of actress Sharon Tate; writer Wojciech Frykowski and his partner, the coffee bean heiress Abigail Folger; and celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring and several friends at the Beverly Hills home of director Roman Polanski.
ABC News Red Lion/20th Century Fox
1976: Sal Mineo, the star of "Rebel Without a Cause," was stabbed to death near the Sunset Strip. Pizza deliveryman Lionel Ray Williams was later arrested and convicted of the murder.
ABC Network
1978: The "Hogan's Heroes" star Bob Crane was found bludgeoned to death in his Arizona apartment. John Henry Carpenter was arrested and charged with the murder in 1992.
CBS
1994: Former NFL star O.J. Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman were found stabbed to death at her Brentwood home. The former football star-turned-actor was arrested and charged with the double homicide but found not guilty in a notorious trial.
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1998: "Saturday Night Live" star Phil Hartman was shot and killed in his sleep in his Encino home by his wife, Brynn Omdahl, who then turned the gun on herself.
NBC
2003: Phil Spector, a music producer famed for his so-called Wall of Sound, was convicted in 2009 of the 2003 shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson in his own home.
BBC Arena Investigation Discovery
2010: The celebrated publicist Ronni Chasen was killed in an apparent robbery while driving home from the premiere of the Cher movie "Burlesque." The man who is believed by police to have killed her has since committed suicide.
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2012: Nearly a year after his disappearance, former Fox executive Gavin Smith's car was found at a Simi Valley storage facility that was connected to John Creech, and Smith’s remains were discovered in a shallow grave in the Angeles National Forest. Creech was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to 11 years in prison.

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TheWrap takes a look back at some of the grisliest killings in L.A. history

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9 Infamous Hollywood Murders, From Black Dahlia to Sharon Tate (Photos)

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