Good police leads us to a surprise arrest

[Justsaying]

http://www.tbd.com/articles/2011/03/...der-56780.html

The suspect detained is the unidentified 27-year-old woman who also claimed she was attacked in the incident.

The suspect was found bound with Murray inside the store.

Police sources said statements from the 27-year-old woman and forensic evidence weren't consistent.

Police suspect the woman caused her own wounds after killing Murray. Police have charged the woman with murder.

Jayna Murray, 30, was raped and killed March 11 at the boutique.

The suspect told police that two masked men who burst into the Bethesda Avenue store after hours.

The murder took place along a dense commercial strip in downtown Bethesda, a circumstance that gave police some optimism that surveillance footage from nearby businesses might yield some leads in the case.

After examining such footage, however, police indicated that there was nothing helpful in the tapes.

The slaying and attack sent shockwaves through the Bethesda community. A more than $150,000 reward has been offered for information about the slaying and business groups, as well as the police, have planned a security meeting within the week to discuss the slaying.

Murray was well known and liked in the busy neighborhood of boutiques and restaurants. People continue to offer prayers and gifts in front of the still-closed store. Many ask hopefully is the case has been solved.

Alecia Pulman, spokesperson for Lululemon, declined to provide any information about Murray's co-worker, including her name. Pulman indicated that the company is awaiting further details from Montgomery County police.

County Council Member Roger Berliner says when "when police made the arrest, people started breathing again."

"It is a gruesome tragedy," he says.

Visitation services are scheduled to be held today in The Woodlands, Tex. The memorial service is set for tomorrow in Texas.

A memorial guestbook has also been created for Jayna Murray.

A celebration of life to be held at James Hoban’s in Dupont Circle scheduled for 6 p.m. is canceled.\

Press conference at the link. I am glad they found the killer and shocked it was her coworker. Too bad Maryland does not have the death penalty but at the age of 27 life in prison is no picnic and I hope she has a very hard life there.

[Justsaying]

BETHESDA, Md. - Police have arrested a woman originally thought to be the second victim in the Bethesda Lululemon case.

Police have charged Brittany Norwood, 27, with the murder of her co-worker, Jayna Murray.

Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger says the physical and forensic evidence did not support Norwood's story.

"Our analysis of forensic evidence was not supporting Ms. Norwood's story. In fact, it was taking us in a different direction," Manger says. "After finding physical and forensic evidence inside the deceased victim's car, Ms. Norwood became a suspect in the case."

Manger says there is no evidence that either woman was sexually assaulted. Police original report from Norwood. He says it's possible that Norwood injured and bound herself.

The two women had closed the store up Friday evening when Norwood called Murray and said she had left her wallet in the store, police say. Investigators believe Murray returned to the store to let her co-worker inside.

Police say there was a dispute between the women, loud enough for witnesses in the Apple Store next door to hear.

The two women were found the next morning near the back of the Lululemon store on Bethesda Avenue around 8 a.m. when an employee came to open the store. The employee saw something was wrong, asked a passerby to check it out and then they called 911.

When police entered the store they found Murray, 30, dead inside. Norwood was found tied up and injured. She told police that they had both been sexually assaulted by two men dressed all in black with their hands and faces covered.

Police say they found two sets of footprints inside the store, one belonging to Norwood and the other matching a size 14 display shoe, which was later found inside the store.

A spokesman for Lululemon Athletica says all three D.C. area stores will be closed through Saturday, March 19, as they help employees deal with the latest developments.

Shortly after the announcement, there was a community gathering in remembrance of Murray and in support of her friends at The Mindfulness Center from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Friday.

.

This is the young lady killed.

I don't understand the hate and violence.

[chad7613]

No one truely understands the hate and violence that man can bestow to another man. Man not being sex either I mean people in general.

[wyofirebirdbaby]

With everything else going on in the world today it's a shame we have to treat our fellow man as we do! I will never understand how criminals think or reason. It's amazing how some think violence will solve their problems and that lies will work to cover it up.

How sad!

[FireCop604]

FYI - Maryland does have the death penalty it's just never carried out. Well, almost never but for all practical purposes we can go with never.

[Justsaying]

The story just gets worse every time I hear more on the radio or TV.

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) - An employee at an upscale yoga clothing shop killed a co-worker who found what was suspected to be stolen merchandise in her bag, then tried to conceal the crime by tying herself up and blaming the attack on two masked men, a prosecutor said Monday.

Brittany Norwood was ordered held without bond on a charge of first-degree murder after Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy described the slaying.

McCarthy said Norwood, 28, developed an elaborate ruse to convince authorities she and the dead woman, Jayna Murray, had been attacked.

"Her cunning and her ability to lie is almost unparalleled," McCarthy said of Norwood.

When Norwood was found the morning of March 12 inside the Bethesda shop, she told police that she and Murray, 30, had been sexually assaulted by two masked men who came in the previous night after closing time.

Norwood was found with minor scratches and other wounds, her hands and feet bound. Police now say Norwood's injuries were self-inflicted.

Police initially treated Norwood as a rape victim, offering rewards for information leading to arrests and even doing surveillance on a person of interest. But detectives concluded her account didn't add up. They now say neither woman was sexually assaulted.

Norwood's blood was found inside Murray's car. She was spotted sitting inside the car for more than an hour the night of the killing, McCarthy said.

Only two sets of bloody footprints were found inside the shop, and workers at the adjacent Apple store reported hearing two women arguing when the attack was believed to have happened.

"No one could have ever anticipated seven or eight days ago that we would be standing here telling you what we are telling you today," McCarthy told the judge.

McCarthy offered new details about what happened before Murray died, saying she had been asked by a store manager to check Norwood's bag for stolen merchandise. She called the manager that night to say she believed Norwood had been stealing.

Later that night, after the store closed, Norwood told Murray she needed to get back into the store because she left her wallet. When the two returned, they argued over the suspected theft, McCarthy said.

Norwood then picked up some sort of weapon inside the store and used it to beat Murray for as long as 20 minutes throughout the shop. McCarthy said Murray sustained a severed spinal cord and blows "too numerous to count."

He said Norwood put on a size-14 shoe, used by the store to measure the length of pants, to track Murray's blood throughout the shop and throw off detectives.

"The nature of this crime is shocking in terms of the level of violence that was directed at the victim," McCarthy said.

McCarthy said detectives confronted Norwood and her family on Friday with what they believed happened.

He said the family asked to be left alone with Norwood, who could then be heard telling a relative that she was sorry and didn't want to disappoint him. But she also told him she was wary of talking more because she feared they were being recorded, McCarthy said.

Montgomery County Police have been investigating whether Norwood had been accused of stealing merchandise from the store before she allegedly killed Murray.

WTOP has learned police were told that Norwood was transferred from the Georgetown Lululemon store to the Bethesda location because of concerns she was stealing merchandise.

The company is not commenting, and it is not clear when the transfer happened or if it was proven Norwood had taken anything.

Norwood was most recently living in Washington, D.C., but grew up in Washington state and was a standout soccer player for Stony Brook University in New York. The soccer coach there did not return phone messages on Monday.

Appearing Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America," Murray's parents said only that they believe in the justice system and that they will let the case work its course.

The Lululemon shop remained locked Monday morning, with strips of yellow police tape still attached to the door and its windows covered from view by large pieces of brown paper. Businesses along the street displayed white ribbons in Murray's memory.

The killing stunned residents and workers in Bethesda, where violent crime is rare. Some working in the area said they were somewhat relieved to know there weren't two killers on the loose as first thought.

I guess she thought she was smarter then the police. I cant find the right word for her, vile, evil,.... if this was done in the store in Arlington she would get death.

[Justsaying]

Her parents were on Good Morning America, I like what the father said when asked if he had a message for the killer, you can see the anger in his face and he did a great job with his answer, they also had nice things to say about the police.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/vict...ection=1206833