Who was Brittany Norwood?

Brittany Norwood Profile
Victim(s):	Jayna Troxel Murray
Motive:	Dispute over merchandise
Murder Location:	Bethesda Row, Maryland
Date(s):	March 12, 2011 (Murder) March 18, 2011 (Arrest) January 27, 2012 (Verdict)
Verdict:	Sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Current Location:	Maryland Correctional Institute for Women

Brittany Norwood was a fairly unrecognizable name until March 2011, when Norwood was convicted of brutally killing her co-worker, Jayna Murray, in the back of the Lululemon Athletica they both worked at in Bethesda, MD. Norwood had initially claimed she and her co-worker had been attacked by three random men after the store closed.

Bethesda, MD is a quiet suburb solemnly known for crime. In fact, there is a 1 in 1701 chance of being the victim of a violent crime in Bethesda, which made the story even more shocking.

Murray’s murder has spurred documentaries, movies, and TV shows. The bizarre circumstances and unclear motives behind the brutal attacks are still being unraveled by true crime fans, Bethesda residents, and nationwide American citizens to this day. Some even refer to it as the crime case they can’t forget.

• Who was Brittany Norwood?
• What did she do?
• What was her motive?
• Where is Norwood now?

Who was Brittany Norwood?

Brittany Norwood was born on May 18, 1982 and was a part of the 2000 graduating class from Decatur High School in Federal Way, Washington. She moved to Long Island, NY to study Sociology at Stony Brook University and received praise as a remarkable soccer player playing defense through her junior year. At the time of the investigation, Norwood had no formal criminal record. She did, however, have a number of complaints from team players, classmates, and roommates claiming she was a kleptomaniac that stole money and clothes from them. By her friends, Norwood was described as, “very sweet, funny, and an amazing soccer player. Stealing was her only vice.” Norwood was eventually reported, lost her scholarship and expelled.

There were also allegations of her stalking an ex-boyfriend in 2007. A restraining order had even been filed against her by the same ex boyfriend. Norwood consistently rescheduled the hearings due to work conflicts, despite writing how serious the matter was to her. A year later, the warrant expired as her ex-boyfriend could not offer evidence of domestic violence claims.

She moved to Washington D.C./Maryland sometime that year to live with one of her four sisters. She initially started working at a hotel and was quickly promoted to manager. It didn’t last long – Brittany had strong aspirations for opening her own gym. These strong aspirations ultimately led her to put in applications to places like Lululemon Athletica.

March 11-12, 2011

9pm March 11, 2011: Brittany Norwood’s co-worker Jayna Murray was locking up at the usual closing time of 9pm and conducted anti theft checks as per standard Lululemon procedure. This typically involves briefly checking one another’s bags before leaving. Murray noticed store items stashed in Norwood’s bags and phoned her manager from her car who said she would respond to the situation the next morning.

10pm March 11, 2011: Murray picked up a call from Norwood explaining she had left her wallet at the store and requested her to unlock the store doors so she could get it.

What happened immediately afterward is unclear. Some theories provided by detectives that worked on the case:

• Brittany tried to downplay the theft however Murray refused to budge. Norwood realized she could not be convinced and the arguing escalated.
• Or, the two started arguing after Murray told her she had phoned their manager. This one has issues holding up since later evidence shows that Brittany had premeditatively used the wallet as a ruse.

Whichever way the situation escalated, detectives know for certain that the two started fighting. Loudly. So loudly that employees from the Bethesda Row Apple Store next door overheard arguing, moaning, and screaming. One saying, “Talk to me. Don’t do this. What’s going on?” followed by screams, the sounds of someone being hit or dragged, and a weak voice later saying “God help me.. Please help me.” When later questioned, they said they dismissed the situation as “drama” and went about their shift.

The morning manager entered the store to find ransacked mannequins, bloody shoeprints, and moaning from the back rooms.

Morning of March 12, 2011: The manager entered the store to find knocked over mannequins, merchandise strewn across the flood, and the door unlocked. She and an outside mall customer searched the store to find Norwood semi conscious in the bathroom with zip ties binding her wrists and ankles and blood on her face. There were bloody footprints tracked through the store. Murray’s body was found face down in a pool of her blood with her neck tightly tied up.

Norwood claimed that three men had followed her and Murray into the store wearing ski masks, attacking and sexually assaulting them. Norwood and Murray were considered victims for several days until forensics determined that Murray had been savagely attacked. 331 wounds were discovered on her body from at least 5 different weapons, presumably all from within the store.

The coroner that examined the case disclosed the most disturbing and damning evidence pointing to Norwood:

• Of all 331 wounds on Jayna’s body, 105 were defensive wounds because the victim had used her arms and legs to defend herself.
• Unfortunately, Jayna was alive for most of them – including seven blunt wounds before a final one ultimately crushed her skull and bruised the inner part of her brain. This, the coroner commented, could only be caused by tremendous force.
• Besides the garrote used to strangle her, there were stab wounds on her shoulder, lower back, and two to the back of her head. The coroner predicted that the fatal wound was one on the back of her neck – which severed her spinal cord and went all the way through her brain.
• Norwood’s wounds were superficial and not nearly as brutal. A minor scratch on her forehead, which had blood trailing down as if she had been upright the entire night, inconsistent to Norwood’s testimony of being on the floor semi conscious after being violently attacked.
• Bloody footprints matched Norwood’s shoes as well as a pair of new men’s size 14 Reebok sneakers taken off the shelf in the store.
• A hole on Murray’s yoga pants near her crotch had been purposely cut and coroners could not rule out any evidence of sexual assault or foul play on either Murray or Norwood.

Investigators found traces of Brittany Norwood’s blood in Jayna Murray’s car.

Detectives also noticed that Jayna’s car had been moved to a different location. Forensic analysts also found a mix of Norwood and Murray’s DNA blood evidence inside the car. When initially questioned, Norwood explained that she was ordered to move the car by the masked men and threatened with her life if she wasn’t back within 10 minutes. Witnesses testified they had seen her park the car near a farmers market and sat inside the car for an hour and a half, likely trying to decide what to do. Brittany told authorities she had passed by a police officer but did not speak to him.

As evidence mounted against her, Norwood eventually admitted that she was responsible for the murder. Her family had a chance to ask her why she had attacked Murray, to which she responded “I don’t know.”

Her Family & Upbringing

Nothing appeared amiss regarding Norwood’s family. She was one of nine children (4 sisters and 4 brothers) to Earl and Larkita Norwood, who were respected and even admired by the community of Kent, WA (20 miles south of Seattle). Both have been consistently described as a friendly and generous couple dedicated to raising their children the same way.

Her parents were dedicated to their children’s needs, even when their furniture upholstery and fabric business were facing hard economic times. The Norwoods never complained and consistently funded thousands of dollars a year to keep their children enrolled in traveling soccer clubs. Earl was always present for Brittany’s big games and dressed for them formally–in collared shirts, jackets, and slacks.

It’s been said she had support from her family to pursue her original dream to play on the U.S. Women’s National Team. Family and friends both commented that her aggressive on the field tactics appeared to never translate off the field.

“It’s beyond belief.” – Earl Norwood told The Washington Post

Possible Motives and Explanations

For many years the motives behind Norwood’s killing have perplexed many, from true crime fans to long standing detectives. Even after over 10 years, Norwood’s brutal attacks have remained in the consciousness of nationwide and local communities such as Bethesda. Some of the long standing theories include:

• Brittany’s kleptomania tendencies have been offered as a major theory. Since her prior record shows that she was expelled from college for stealing from several of her colleagues, teammates, and roommates, it’s possible that she assumed that she would be fired or a felony placed on her permanent record. Perhaps she was impulsively trying to defend her future or back up plan of owning a gym.
• The rage could have come from being caught – but then why didn’t it happen the first several times during her college years? Some speculate that it may have been built up for some time.
• There have been rumors about the work environment at Lululemon Athletica. It’s possible that the work environment was poor and facilitated a lot of undercover tension. However, this doesn’t line up with statements provided by daily customers that found no unusual issues between the duo during the hours they’d spend at the store. Frequent regulars in the store never witnessed animosity between the two nor anything amiss in the store itself. “There was absolutely nothing wrong inside Lululemon […] it must have went wrong fast,” a regular told The Washington Post.
• Another possibility is that Brittany may have been secretly jealous of Jayna due to her education, positioning in the company and being turned in by someone she was jealous of sent her over the edge.
• In 2014, three years after the attacks, author Dan Morse of Murder in the Yoga Store discussed texts found on Norwood’s phone prior to the murder. Norwood may have been leading a second life–moonlighting as a prostitute–based on her interactions with personal ad listings on Craigslist (Deborah Kalb; wtopnews). Lululemon employees may have been gossiping about her or bullying her about it. Furthermore, Norwood’s second life may led her to be more desensitized to severe violence, as sex workers do face higher incidents of drugs and domestic violence.

Outcome

The then-CEO of Lululemon Athletica, Christine Day, released a statement on March 18th–the day the Norwood investigation started–thanking law enforcement and announcing the temporary closure of three local stores in the Bethesda area through March 19th. Day reiterated this was to help protect the company’s employees and families.

Brittany Norwood on Trial

Brittany Norwood’s testimony fell apart during the investigation and did not hold up in court. She was caught in several lies, including one where she initially claimed she was never in Murray’s car. Later, she changed it to being forced to move it after the three masked men threatened to kill her if she didn’t return in 20 minutes.

The trial went on for almost a year. In the end, her defense team did not try to defend Brittany’s original testimony. Instead, they sought second degree homicide charges and maintained that the killing was not premeditated.

The homicide laws in Maryland mandate that first degree or premeditated murder results in life imprisonment without any possibility of parole. However, second degree homicide has a maximum penalty of 30 years–with parole eligibility after 15 years.

On January 27, 2012, after a nearly year-long trial, Norwood was convicted of murder in the first degree, and sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole. Norwood offered a public apology in hopes of parole–however, the judge did not budge.

In 2015, she appealed her conviction through a law that guarantees circuit court cases to a single appeal by The Court of Special Appeals. Her defense team claimed that the Montgomery detectives had been questioned improperly and that she had not been read her Miranda rights when brought in for questioning. Her claims were dismissed which effectively eliminated any additional direct appeal options.

Currently, Brittany Norwood is inmate #3766566 at the Maryland Correctional Institute for Women in Jessup, MD.

Remembering Jayna Murray

Pictured above: Jayna Murray

Jayna Murry (born November 22, 1980) was born in Wichita, KS and grew up in Texas with her loving parents David and Phyliss Murray and older brother Hugh. Jayna had moved to the Washington D.C. area to complete her Bachelor’s degree at George Washington University.

When the attacks occurred, she had been living in the area for a few years. She had been working at Lululemon Athletica and continuing her education at John Hopkins University for a higher degree in Communication and Business Administration. She was in the process of writing her final thesis on Lululemon’s business model and aspired to apply to Lululemon Athletica’s corporate offices post-graduation.

Jayna was an athlete that loved hiking, dancing, and traveling. She was dearly loved and appreciated by her family and friends. She was also known to the community as an animal and nature lover that lived life to the fullest. Jayna also enjoyed volunteering for several local organizations.

Murray’s family founded the Jayna Troxel Murray Foundation posthumously. According to the Facebook page, its mission is to “[support] and [promote] the interest and passions that enriched Jayna’s life by making them available to others in hopes of similarly enriching their lives.”

See Also:
The Lululemon Murder
Snapped
Secrets of My Stepdaughter