What really happened at the yoga store? | Forensic Files

[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website on march 2 2011 a frail looking steve
jobs took to the stage of an art center in san francisco dressed in his iconic black turtleneck
sweater and jeans the apple ceo addressed the sea of cheering reporters to unveil apple's newest creation
the ipad 2 nine days later on march 11 crowds swarmed outside of apple stores throughout the united states with
customers hoping to get their hands on the latest model ipad it was no different at a marylander
store located on bethesda row nestled amongst exclusive boutiques and trendy restaurants the bethesda apple
store did a roaring trade on the night of friday march 11. employees were run off their feet
selling the ipad 2 in addition to serving other customers doing a spot of late night shopping
after closing a few apple employees stayed back to get things in order just after 10 p.m the manager on duty
lara not her real name was tallying up receipts at one of the tills when she suddenly heard a series of strange
banging sounds lara asked one of the two security guards on duty to help her identify the
origin of the noise separately they scoped out the two-story apple building as the noises increased
in volume and frequency [Music] after a few minutes lara followed the sound and realized it was coming from
behind the wall that apple shared with the store next door she walked over and put her ear up to
the wall in addition to banging and thudding noises lara could also hear grunting and
what sounded like something heavy being dragged just then lara heard a hysterical female
voice emanating through the wall she raced upstairs to retrieve her senior manager who followed her to
listen he could also hear a female who now sounded as though she was gasping for
breath a scream then pierced the air [Music] lara asked if she should call the police
but her manager didn't think it was serious to him it sounded as though someone had
just received bad news he told lara quote i think it's just drama the security guard agreed and the three
of them went back to work meanwhile the banging and thudding noises continued next door along with
the occasional scream approximately nine minutes after lara first heard the noise the female voice
yelled god help me please help me shortly after that it went quiet nearly one hour later just after 11 pm
lara was the last apple employee to leave for the night she locked the front door to the apple
building and went home oblivious to what had unfolded in the yoga store next door
[Music] [Music] friday march 11 2011 was a change of routine for jaina murray who worked as a
salesperson and supervisor at the lululemon athletica yoga store in bethesda the 30 year old didn't usually work
fridays but she'd agreed to swap shifts with a co-worker given the release of the ipad 2 at the
apple store next door jaina knew what would be a busy evening with extra foot traffic passing by
but she was only too happy to help jaina had been at the yoga store for two years and loved working there
the muscular five-foot five-inch tall jaina could be seen doing cartwheels and dancing with customers during quieter
shifts bringing with her a sense of energy and joy wherever she went [Music] jaina arrived at the lululemon store two
hours early to catch up on some personal work she took a seat in the back of the store
opened her laptop and put on some music her boyfriend who lived in seattle was coming to visit her the following
weekend and jaina wanted to make sure all her university coursework was up to date
intelligent and determined jaina was completing her thesis to graduate with a master's degree in business
administration and communication jaina was so impressed by lululemon's business model and philosophy that she
jumped at the chance to use the company as the basis of her thesis this included writing a crisis
communication plan that lululemon staff could implement in the event of an internal emergency
the staff at the lululemon headquarters in vancouver canada were thoroughly impressed with her plan
once jaina graduated she hoped to move to seattle with her boyfriend and then score a job at lululemon headquarters
as jaina worked on her laptop she was interrupted by her co-worker who presented her with a bottle of wine as a
token of appreciation for swapping shifts jaina happily chatted to her and some of
the other employees on duty exuding a positive attitude that afforded her many friends wherever she
went jaina lived life to the fullest it was this mindset that made her the perfect employee for lululemon
she abided by one of the popular motivational quotes often seen advertised throughout lululemon stores
to live every day as if it was your last [Music] 28 year old britney norwood was also
having a lovely friday she spent the morning at a yoga class before meeting a friend for lunch
afterwards she and her friend got their nails done and britney then rushed to lululemon making it just on time to
start her 3pm shift britney had only been at the bethesda location for a few weeks having
transferred from another lululemon store but so far she was enjoying it described as having a wide smile
welcoming nature and good sense of humour she was quick to make friends like jaina britney was also a determined
woman she had previously managed vip guests at a local intercontinental hotel but had
taken a considerable pay cut for the opportunity to work for lululemon her goal was to use the yoga store as a
stepping stone to her dream career of becoming a personal trainer and opening her own gym
as brittany arrived at work that friday she was closer to realising her dream than ever before having secured a job
interview at the local gym the following week [Music] friday nights were typically busy for
the lululemon store and three salespeople were usually rosted on however one employee had called in sick
and nobody was available to cover for her leaving jaina and brittany to hold down the ford on their own
[Music] they didn't mind as they felt confident they could handle the workload as the queue of people waiting to enter
the apple store next door increased it remained busy at the yoga store the line at apple was still out the door
when lululemon closed at 9pm jaina and britney completed the closing protocol for the store
as the more senior of the two jaina then switched off the lights set the alarm and locked the door
at 9 45 pm the women said their goodbyes and went their separate ways the next morning lululemon store manager
and owner rachel made her way to work at 8 a.m neatly dressed in workout gear and
orange running shoes she sipped a coffee as she passed a few people waiting for the apple store to open
when she reached the front door of lululemon she was displeased to discover that it was unlocked
rachel swore under her breath at jaina for not locking up properly however as she stepped inside it
immediately became clear that something terrible had happened merchandise and clothing was strewn
throughout mannequins were lying on the floor and a flat screen tv had crashed and shattered
on the ground rachel sidestepped the display table that had been moved and then stopped
a bloody shoe print appeared in front of her outside the store a young man named ryan
sat on a public bench absent-mindedly scrolling through his phone he had missed out on an ipad 2 the night
before and had arrived at the apple store early to ensure he didn't go home empty-handed
ryan looked up as rachel made a hasty exit out of lululemon on her phone to the police
she asked ryan if he had seen anyone enter or leave lululemon that morning he hadn't but volunteered to check
inside the store while they waited for police to arrive ryan made his way past the clothing
racks and to the change rooms where the bloody shoe prints increased following their trail he called out
there was no response after walking through a half door at the back of the store ryan came to another
door that led to a rear hallway and emergency exit a large pool of blood had seeped
underneath the door ryan tried to push it open but there was something heavy on the other side
forcing it open just enough to stick his head through ryan discovered the body of
a woman propped up against the door laying face down on the blood drenched ground
blood was splatted high up the walls a length of rope was tied around the woman's neck and a red toolbox sat on
her back with multiple blood-soaked tools surrounding her body panicked ryan made his way back outside
on his way he passed two staff bathrooms that he hadn't noticed on his way in a pair of legs protruded from one of the
doorways tightly bound at the ankles by zip ties it was the body of another woman lying
on her back with her wrists bound above her head she was covered in wounds to her face
and upper body with blood coating her clothes the black yoga pants she was wearing had
been ripped open at the crotch and a large white rock the size of a baseball lay beside her in a pool of blood
within minutes two officers arrived and made their way to the rear hallway once they'd established that the
perpetrator was no longer in the store one of the officers assessed the woman lying in the back hallway
it was jaina murray it appeared she had been deceased for some time the officer then raced to the bathrooms
where britney norwood lay on the floor her eyes were closed but she was still breathing
the officer cut brittany free from the ziptie restraints and paramedics soon arrived to take her to a nearby hospital
investigators from the montgomery county police department began their inquiries
heading the case were detectives jim jury and dmitry reuven signs of a struggle were evident
throughout the store the registers were open and receipts were scattered behind the counter
three small safes had also been opened and their contents emptied indicating that robbery had been a motive for the
assault on the two women meanwhile brittany underwent emergency treatment and regained consciousness
she had sustained numerous lacerations to her stomach chest and legs and had shards of glass lodged in her back
there was a large wound to her forehead and her right hand was covered in defense wounds from fighting off her
attacker still in shock and pain she began to explain what had happened to her and
jaina the night before the ordeal was so brutal that the officer who took down the statement
couldn't believe what she was hearing at 9 45 pm jaina closed up the store and the women went their separate ways
as britney walked to the nearby subway she realised she'd left her wallet behind
she didn't have keys to the store so she called jaina to explain the situation coincidentally jaina had also
accidentally left her laptop behind so she told britney she would meet her back at the store to retrieve their
belongings they both arrived at lululemon just after 10 pm jaina opened the door and deactivated
the security alarm but britney couldn't find her wallet anywhere the two women searched the rear of the
store for about 10 minutes before giving up jaina gave britney her metro travel card so she could get home and promised
she would look for the wallet again in the morning just then they realized they'd forgotten
to lock the front door behind them when they came inside a man dressed head to toe in black
clothing including gloves a hoodie and a ski mask snuck out from behind a clothing rack
he hid jaina over the back of the head with a metal bar suddenly another man clad in the same
attire appeared from a different clothing rack and grabbed britney by the hair he began cutting her with a sharp object
warning that he'd slit her throat if she said a word the other man took jaina to the rear
hallway while britney's attacker dragged her to the bathroom he yelled racial slurs at britney and
called her a quote dirty [ __ ] he threw her to the ground and slid open her yoga pants at the crotch
britney sobbed as she recounted the brutal rape that followed which included the use of a coat hanger from the store
that had serrated edges to keep the garments in position at one point the attacker hit britney on
the head with the hard object presumably the large rock found by her body causing her to drift in and out of
consciousness while the assault continued all of a sudden britney's attacker demanded she be
quiet britney listened closely and could hear voices coming from the apple store
next door she prayed that someone would intervene and rescue her but nothing happened
when the voices died down the masked man pulled britney to her feet and ordered her to open the cash registers and safes
as she complied britney could hear jaina screaming from the rear of the store her screams became quieter and less
frequent before stopping altogether the next thing britney remembered was being stretchered outside by a paramedic
britney recalled that both of the men were of medium build but one was significantly taller than the other
jaina's attacker was approximately six feet tall while the man who assaulted brittany was about five foot five and
had no trouble overpowering her five foot three 120 pound frame from their voices she guessed they were
young white american men but their black attire had covered most of their features
britney blamed herself for the ordeal believing it wouldn't have happened if she hadn't forgotten her wallet
after 48 painful minutes of recounting the night's events she asked is my friend okay
britney's statement helped the crime scene investigators piece together a timeline of events
as britney's attacker forced her to open the registers and safes both he and britney had tracked blood throughout the
store the size seven and a half new balance shoe prints belonged to britney meaning
the size 14 reebok sneakers belonged to her attacker authorities believed that the attackers
had watched the two women go back into lululemon from afar and seeing an opportunity to burglarize the store had
followed them inside seconds after they entered lululemon offered a 125 000 reward for
leads resulting in the conviction of the men responsible the chief of police addressed reporters
outside the store giving a description of the two suspects and pleading for witnesses to come forward
adding we only have one eyewitness and she's been through a lot lara the employee from apple was
interviewed later that day she broke down in tears when she discovered a woman had been murdered and
another severely injured in an assault that she had largely dismissed jaina's murder had occurred a mere eight
feet from where the apple employees had stood listening to her screaming the lululemon store didn't have indoor
surveillance however there were cctv cameras positioned outside the rear of the apple store
these cameras captured the back car park shared by apple and lululemon as detectives began watching the
previous night's recordings nothing initially stood out but at 11 pm just after the attack took
place two men entered the frame they were both dressed entirely in black the taller of the two wore a ski mask
rolled up like a beanie and had a backpack slung over one shoulder the shorter man was talking on a phone
the pair seemed in a hurry as they walked from the direction of lululemon and doubt a view of their cameras
the detectives went frame by frame trying to get a clear picture of the man's faces but it was too blurry
regardless they were certain these were the two suspects they were looking for as detectives focused on identifying the
two masked men another lead came in as detailed in the book the yoga store murder by dan morse the day after the
attack jaina murray's two-door silver pontiac g5 was found in a car park three blocks from the lululemon store
that there was plenty of available parking much closer to the store when jaina returned at 10 pm
this was puzzling an officer came forward to report that he'd been patrolling the car park at
around 12 30 on the night of the attack 90 minutes after the two masked men were
captured walking away from lululemon as he drove past to jaina's pontiac he noticed the headlights were on and
someone was sitting in the driver's seat the officer considered pulling over to talk to the driver but changed his mind
thinking they'd likely just parked for a quick cigarette the officer couldn't make out any
details of the person in the driver's seat and continued on his way however two hours later he returned to
the car park to find the pontiac in the same spot with its lights still on this time the officer couldn't see if
there was anyone in the driver's seat and once again he drove off he patrolled the car park a third time
an hour later to find the pontiac vacant with its lights off detectives considered that jaina's
murderer may have been the person spotted in the driver's seat but they were at a loss to explain why
word of the murder and assault of jaina and brittany spread around town and shocked the public
it was unlike anything seen in bethesda where local police were usually concerned with minor crimes in the
affluent neighborhood women who would normally be more than comfortable walking alone along bethesda
row began travelling in groups and arming themselves with pepper spray in case they were next to be targeted
a makeshift memorial adorned the sidewalk outside of lululemon as distressed locals lay flowers and cards
one of which rad two beautiful souls one lost one deeply hurt the police tip line was a buzz with
concerned locals phoning in their suspicions on who was responsible many could be dismissed almost
immediately but there was one name that kept coming up over and over again keith lockett
keith was a 40 year old homeless man who was well known to those who lived in bethesda
with a reputation for getting drunk and verbally abusive many local women were terrified of him
authorities questioned the manager of a local restaurant where keith typically visited every day
only to find out that he hadn't come in on the friday or saturday when the attack took place
the manager of a nearby homeware store recalled seeing keith walk past lululemon on the friday of the attack
he'd had a backpack over his shoulder which struck the manager as odd because he'd never seen keith wearing a backpack
he'd been in the company of two other men whom the manager had never seen before
a former amateur boxer keith had a long rap sheet that included robbery assault and battery
it didn't take long for officers to locate him he was in a hospital out of town being
treated for facial injuries including a swollen eye his clothes were covered in spots of
dried blood detectives rushed to the hospital speculating that jaina or britney may
have injured him in self-defense it made sense that he sought help from a hospital out of town to fly under the
radar keith's bloodied clothes were taken for dna analysis and once he was medically
cleared he was taken to the montgomery county police station for questioning he strongly denied having any
involvement in the attack but admitted being near the lululemon store when it took place
[Music] as detailed in the book the yoga store murder keith lockett told the detectives that
he had also been assaulted on the night of the attack hence his facial injuries he was assaulted by a quote short
spanish dude who hung out with a taller african-american man from gossip on the streets keith knew
the two men had recently paired up and were robbing stores in bethesda keith then became emotional
he told detectives that he was standing across the road from lululemon when quote
the black dude and the spanish dude robbed the lady and cut her i seen it with my own eyes
detectives didn't know what to make of keith's statement he was confused sometimes incoherent and
told the officers that he suffered from schizoaffective disorder which required medication
over the course of the interview keith's story changed multiple times and he later claimed to have seen a gang of
young teens riding skateboards out of the store workers at a homeless shelter who often
supplied keith with meals and a place to sleep conceded that he could be rude but
they didn't for one minute suspect him of committing the attack the blood on keith's clothes was
determined to be his own furthermore none of his dna was found at the lululemon crime scene
with no physical evidence linking keith to the attack he was ruled out as a suspect
meanwhile the medical examiner working on jaina's autopsy assumed that she'd been a victim of a motor vehicle or
bicycle accident given that her face and scalp were covered in so many bruises lacerations and wounds
jaina's face was so disfigured by various injuries that her features were unrecognizable
lacerations on her face continued to her torso and back and ranged in size from nilly pinprick to 4
inches the crotch of jaina's leggings had been slashed and an area of blood suggested to the medical examiner that
like brittany jaina had also been sexually assaulted fibres of rope found in jaina's clenched
hands matched the piece of rope tied around her neck indicating that she had struggled to free herself
however her death wasn't caused by strangulation but from a one-inch stab wound sustained at the base of her skull
presumably caused by a knife the stabbing had severed her brainstem in total jaina had sustained 13 skull
fractures and at least 331 separate injuries of which 152 were to her head and 105 were defensive wounds
jaina was a chronic nail-biter and even though she had fought hard against her attacker her nails were too short to
have collected any dna from her perpetrator jaina's wounds had been caused by various objects which had been taken
from in the store and many from the toolbox that had rested on her back these items included a wrench a footlong
metal bar a metal display hook a hammer a box cutter a buddha statue and an exacto knife all of which were found
around jaina's body [Music] by the evening of monday march 14 three days after the attack britney had been
released from hospital and was resting up at home her parents had flown in from across the
country and she was surrounded by her eight siblings whom she was extremely close to and who dropped everything to
support her they were extremely worried about britney as she'd become with the drawn
and was hardly sleeping friends also rallied around her sending her messages of love
desperate for more information detectives drury and reuven went to interview britney once more
britney struggled to talk as she relived the violent assault again she recalled how the two men were
laughing as they carried out the burglary rape and murder describing it as like a scene out of the violent video
game grand theft auto britney paused there was something she had been keeping to herself out of sheer terror that the
master perpetrators would return bursting into tears brittany told the detectives that her attackers knew where
she lived britney explained that the two men were rifling through the contents of her bag
when they found two separate utility bills showing her name and address she was now terrified that they were
going to pay her a visit the detectives reassured the norwoods that it was highly unlikely her
perpetrators would return but warned them to be on the lookout for any suspicious behavior from people in the
street as the detectives prepared to leave britney's brother chris asked to speak
to them outside he asked them why they thought the killers had spared his sister when jaina
had been so savagely murdered as detailed in the yoga store murder one of the detectives asked chris what kind
of person britney was he paused before saying [Music] my sister is a very secretive person
case file will be back shortly thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode sponsors
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on the same day that britney was being interviewed at her home by detectives sergeant craig wittenberger entered the
lululemon store to continue his investigation one detail continued to plague him
why were only britney's shoe prints and one other pair found in the store when there were two masked men involved in
the assault furthermore why were there no bloody shoe prints outside the store either at the front or
back entrance as sergeant wittenberger re-examined the front of the store he noticed a table
had been pushed up against the wall in all the commotion when he slid it back he found that the
table had drawers underneath opening one he pulled out a pair of shoes men's reebok size 14 sneakers
their tread was an exact match to the larger bloody shoe prints left in the store
the smaller shoe prints stopped abruptly in front of a sink at the back of the store
indicating that whoever wore them had removed them in an attempt to clean them a strange pattern of scalloped blood
marks then trailed from the sink back to the table drawer where the reeboks were
found analysis showed that the marks were from shoelaces that were wet with diluted
blood every time the person stepped the ends of the shoelaces flicked on the floor
and left a small mark detective reuven questioned store manager rachel about the reeboks
she told him that the shoes were owned and kept at lululemon for their male customers to try on when buying pants
that way any alterations that needed to be made to the length of the pants could
be done in store it was a major breakthrough a forensic examiner concluded that the
reebok prince appeared to have been staged as the print patterns were inconsistent with normal movement
detailed in murder in the yoga store by peter ross range detective ruben considered this evidence
and told his shocked colleagues the footprints never left the store because the killer never left the store
on wednesday march 17 six days after the murder britney arrived at the police station having agreed to provide hair
and fingerprint samples to help with the crime scene analysis britney was taken to an interview room
where she was told that the technicians collecting the samples had been delayed while they waited detective drury
pressed britney to recall the night's events one more time she retold the story nearly word for
word sobbing in parts when she finished detective drury asked if she had ever been in jaina's car
before britney replied no the detectives knew she was lying [Music] forensic examination of jaina's pontiac
had revealed blood on the car's stick shift the steering wheel and the inside of the door
dna analysis showed the blood belonged to two people jaina murray and brittany norwood
a black lululemon cap in the backseat had a blood stain on the inside in the exact same position as the wound that
britney had obtained to the center of her forehead dna analysis confirmed it was britney's
blood detectives wondered if britney could have been the person the patrol officer
had seen sitting in the driver's seat after the attack this speculation was not enough to place
britney under arrest and so she was permitted to leave the station the next day britney's brother chris
called the detectives to let them know that his sister had something she wanted to get off her chest
britney soon arrived at the station with chris and one of her sisters by her side
she told detectives there was something she had been keeping from them because she was frightened
she had in fact been in jaina's car on the night of her murder britney claimed that midway through the
assault her attacker ordered her to move jaina's car which was parked outside the
store he didn't offer any explanation as to why but as detailed in murder in the
yoga store britney told detectives quote they said that if i was to pass anyone and open my mouth i can consider myself
dead and that one of them would be watching me the entire time i remember seeing a cop and i was just
too scared to even flag him down britney said she parked the car a few blocks away and walked back to lululemon
passing pedestrians whilst covered in blood nobody noticed her injuries and she was
too scared to ask anyone for help detectives drury and ruben were beyond a dubious and figured that britney was
trying to cover her tracks they questioned why she didn't keep driving to safety
she explained that her attackers knew where she lived and she didn't want them to come back
no matter how hard the detectives tried britney didn't budge from her story eventually they gave up
they summoned britney siblings into the interview room and said britney killed jaina
britney's siblings listened in horror as detective drury detailed the extensive evidence that pointed to britney norwood
is the sole perpetrator of the assault that killed jaina murray any credibility to her story about two
masked men was dispelled when the men captured on cctv were identified as two kitchen hands in a nearby restaurant
hurrying to work the men were interviewed by detectives and ruled out as suspects immediately
it was purely coincidental that they happened to walk into the cctv surveillance just after the attack had
taken place the week of forensic investigations into the store had provided ample evidence
that pointed to britney's guilt with the analysis of jaina's car being the final
piece of the puzzle further interviews with the apple employees who heard noises coming from
the lululemon store revealed they heard not one but two female voices on the night of the attack
they seemed to be arguing loudly before the screaming began just before one of the women could be
heard yelling god help me another female voice was heard screaming talk to me don't do this
what's going on from the very beginning even britney's brother chris had found it strange that
jaina had received such brutal injuries while britney had received superficial injuries that only required a short stay
in hospital brittany tried to explain this to detectives saying that she had been
spared from the brunt of the attack because her rapist said she was quote fun to [ __ ]
however britney was examined by a nurse trained in treating victims of sexual assault
she found there were no clinical signs that britney had been raped nor any physical injuries that would be expected
following a rough sexual assault with a coat hanger there were also no traces of semen found
at the scene even though jaina's pants had been slit she hadn't been sexually assaulted
either the area of blood near her genitals was actually pulling from another wound on
her body in her original statement to detectives brittany claimed she had not been near
jaina's body once the two had been separated however three days after the attack
britney provided another statement in which she claimed to have just remembered that her attacker had pushed
her onto jaina's bleeding body in an effort to psychologically torture her detectives believed britney had made up
this story to explain why traces of her blood were found on jaina's body it was determined that all of the
injuries britney sustained could have been self-inflicted the lacerations to her upper back were
only in positions that someone could reach with their own hands they were all superficial and uniform in
depth and appearance indicating britney hadn't struggled when they were being inflicted
britney had claimed she'd been cut with the various instruments while she had her clothes on however there were no
lacerations in any of her clothing when britney was found her hands were zip-locked together high above her head
there was no reason for this as she could have lowered her arms any time it seemed to detectives that she was
putting on a show analysis of the zip ties used to restrain her wrists and ankles revealed
bite marks and dna where britney had used her teeth to secure them herself a two-inch laceration between britney's
right thumb and forefinger was originally labelled a defensive wound caused by a knife
however analysis of the laceration indicated it had been caused by a knife slipping in britney's hand as she
stabbed a jaina and lost her grip because the attack on jaina had been so brutal and left her face so disfigured
it pointed to someone who knew jaina and had immense feelings of hatred towards her
not a random burglar it begged the ultimate question why would brittany murder jaina
[Music] case file will be back shortly thank you for supporting us by listening to this
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you support case file to continue to deliver quality content britney norwood came from a family of
high achievers she performed well in school and received good grades but it was on the
soccer field that she really shone britney received an athletic scholarship at stony brook university where she was
named the team's most valuable player with dreams of becoming a social worker brittany was also studying sociology and
psychology but in 2004 she was asked to leave the university after multiple friends
accused her of stealing from them britney broke down and admitted to it she promised not to do it again however
she didn't stay true to her word she later stole 300 from one of her sister's purses during a family
gathering although she wholeheartedly denied doing so although she had told family and friends
she had graduated britney left the university before completing her degree she secured a job working at the willard
intercontinental hotel situated a stone's throw from the white house things were looking up for britney she
was well liked and quickly promoted once winning the title of employee of the quarter
however britney also had a secretive side in 2007 she broke up with her boyfriend
of 18 months the following year she broke into his house and stole various items including
jewellery blank checks and car keys britney's axe filed a restraining order against her claiming she had also been
physically abusive towards him and he feared for his safety britney violated the restraining order
within two weeks and an arrest warrant was subsequently issued but never executed
authorities were busy with more serious crimes and the warrant expired after a year
with the goal of becoming a personal trainer britney left her job at the hotel and started working at the
lululemon store in georgetown dc shortly after a co-worker accused her of stealing money from the tills
in january 2011 britney was fired after her boss accused her of abusing her store discount
britney disputed this and in the end management at lululemon decided not to fire her
instead she was transferred to the bethesda store as detailed in the book the yoga store
murder after meeting up with her future co-workers britney sent one of them a text message which read
you have such a solid team i know it'll be a great experience over the coming weeks several employees
at the bethesda store noticed that certain items were missing when these employees confronted the
store manager she checked the roster and noticed britney had been working each time that something disappeared
two days prior to the store attack at a weekly leadership meeting which included
jaina murray the team huddled together and discussed how they were going to catch britney in the act so she could be
legitimately fired they joked about setting up a nanny cam inside the store in the end the team decided that the
best course of action would be to announce to all staff the possibility that a thief was amongst them and then
see what happened before their co-workers left on friday march 11 jaina commented
i have to close with the thief tonight do you think i will catch her jaina and britney worked happily
together that evening but when it came time to lock up jaina asked to look inside britney's bag
it was store policy to do so when britney opened her bag jaina spotted a pair of lululemon yoga pants
with tags attached but no store recede britney denied stealing them claiming she had bought them earlier in the day
as the computer system had already been shut down for the night jaina told britney not to worry they would sort it
out later then they left the store on her way to her car jaina called the employee who britney claimed sold her
the yoga pants the employee denied doing so jaina called her boss rachel who told
jaina not to worry about it now that they had caught britney in the act rachel planned to dismiss her the
following day just as jaina began driving home her phone rang it was britney who had lost her wallet
and needed jaina to let her into the store as detailed in murder in the yoga store
after being led inside britney likely asked to jaina what was going to happen now that she had been found with stolen
merchandise although the details of the conversation aren't known their escalating voices
could be overheard in the apple store next door forensic analysis showed britney first
attack to jaina in the back storeroom by hitting her on the back of the head with
a metal bar jaina attempted to fight back but the violent attack continued the final blow was from a knife kept in
the back room of the store jaina had parked her car in a no standing area right outside the store
thinking she'd just be running in for a few minutes knowing that jaina's car would draw
attention there britney rummaged through jana's bag until she found her keys she drove jaina's pontiac to a parking
lot three blocks away where she sat to think about what to do next had the patrol officer investigated when
he drove past he would have caught britney covered in blood britney returned to the store and stood
in the huge amount of blood that had pulled around jaina's body she then walked bloody shoe prints
around the cash registers and safes before replacing her shoes with the men's reeboks kept in the store and
repeating the process britney then washed both pairs in the back sink she put her new balance running shoes
back on and walked the reeboks back to the drawer in the table as she walked her own shoelaces left
little marks of diluted blood brittany then threw clothes from the hangers and toppled over mannequins to
make it appear as though a struggle had taken place at some stage she slit the crotch of
jaina's pants to make it seem as though she had been sexually assaulted with the scene complete britney then
inflicted several cuts to her own body cut open the crotch to her yoga pants restrained her hands and feet and lay on
the bathroom floor all she had to do then was wait for someone to find her britney's brother and sister sat in
shock as detective drury listed the evidence pointing to britney's guilt they did not believe she could unleash
such a brutal assault resulting in murder over a pair of stolen yoga pants detective drury was upset for the
norwood family as he considered them lovely and cooperative people britney's father had even invited him to
go fishing once the investigation was over the detective himself struggled to come
to terms with britney's guilt telling her family quote i did not want to believe it at first
i did not want to believe it on friday march 18 one week to the day since the attack britney was arrested
for first-degree murder the day of the arrest coincided with the jaina's funeral
over 200 people gathered to say goodbye to jaina including the founder and ceo of lululemon
as jaina's parents drove to the chapel they received a call from detectives informing them they had made an arrest
they were horrified to learn the person who killed their daughter was britney norwood
[Music] following britney's arrest the state prosecutor met with the jaina's family
to see if they would accept a plea deal instead of going to trial the plea bargain entailed that britney
would serve 15 years of her sentence and then become eligible for parole jaina's family refused to accept this
and a trial date was announced ten days before the trial the judge dealt a blow to the prosecution
they would not be allowed to give evidence regarding the telephone conversations between jaina and rachel
just prior to the murder in which jaina told her boss she had caught britney stealing
classified as hearsay this ruling was critical as it meant that the prosecution could not argue a motive for
jaina's murder britney's trial began on october 24 2011 in the montgomery county circuit court
in rockville maryland over 200 exhibits and 25 witnesses were called including the apple store
employees who recounted hearing jaina's cries for help the prosecutor conceded that britney had
played her part very well he admitted that had she discarded the men's reebok shoes instead of returning
them to the draw and left jaina's car parked in its original location britney may have gotten away with murder
in his opening statement britney's defense attorney stunned the jury and onlookers when he cut straight to the
point and admitted to britney's guilt saying there was a horrific fight and during
that fight britney norwood lost it jaina was killed by brittany there was no point in maintaining her
innocence the evidence against her was too overwhelming rather britney was seeking to be
convicted for second-degree murder instead of first on november 2 2011 the jury deliberated
for only 21 minutes before finding britney norwood guilty for the first degree murder of jaina murray
as both families cried at the verdict britney remained still and silent showing no emotion
less than 24 hours later jaina's parents went shopping at the bethesda lululemon
store that had since reopened following their daughter's murder her father david told cbs that there was
an important reason for their visit saying nothing will start until we pass the first day of the new normal we're
searching for so this was the appropriate location jaina's mother added we have always had lululemon gifts under
the tree for christmas and we decided this year was not going to be any different
britney was sentenced two months later on january 27 2012 with over 200 spectators crowding the courtroom
jaina's family spoke openly about the impact that her murder had on their lives with her brother hugh saying
march 12 2011 was my family september 11 2001. nothing will ever be normal nothing will ever be the same
jaina's brother dirk said that he and his two sons draw pictures and we write notes and we burn them so they can rise
in the smoke up to heaven jaina's murder had a profound impact on his two young boys and he told the
courtroom that instead of checking the closet for bogeymen before bed they check for britney norwood
brittany finally broke the silence that she'd maintained for the entire trial begging for mercy and a chance of parole
in tears she said for the murray family what do i say when your daughter's gone and i'm the one
convicted of her murder i know what i say today won't take the pain away over the loss of jaina
i hope for the murray family someday you'll be able to find forgiveness in your heart
i am truly sorry to illustrate the horrific nature of the assault and murder committed by brittany
an emotional judge told the courtroom that one night he went home and banged his fist against the table 300 times
this was to mimic the hand movements of britney as she attacked jaina it took him over eight minutes
he told brittany you mutilated this woman and with every blow you had a chance to think about
what you were doing you reveled in the gore and the lies that you told afterward were incredible
you're one hell of a liar ma'am addressing the families the judge was overcome with emotion as he said
we don't pick our families but frankly if i had to pick a family i'd want either the norwoods or the murrays
brittany was then sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole
jaina's family clapped and cheered as the sentence was read out outside of the courtroom jaina's father
said the apology from britney was too little too late and just a last-ditch effort to have her sentence reduced
britney appealed her conviction on the grounds that her initial interviews with detectives should have been omitted from
the trial as she hadn't been read her miranda rights the appeals judge dismissed this saying
that britney was initially interviewed as a victim not a suspect [Music] jaina's murder continued to impact staff
at the apple store next door with manager lara relocating to another store the security guard who was on duty the
night of the murder felt immensely sad about his role in the night's events having previously worked in rough
neighborhoods had never crossed his mind that something more than an argument between two people was happening in the
yoga store had he been working in a more dangerous location he would have acted on the
noise jaina's brother hugh was serving in the military at the time of the murder and
had left iraq to be with his family in the wake of the crime when he returned to iraq several weeks
later a parcel was waiting for him it was from jaina who had mailed it shortly before she was killed
as detailed in the yoga store murder hugh opened it hesitantly aware that it would be the final communication he
would ever have with his sister jaina had sent him a running cap with a greeting card that listed things that
didn't work on their own chips without dip macaroni without cheese me without you
inside she had signed off take care and be safe love you and miss you jaina in the wake of jaina's murder a stained
glass window was erected over the doorway to the main entrance of the bethesda lululemon store in her memory
the colorful mosaic featured the word love emblazoned in red cursive script it became a local landmark known
throughout town as the love window in december 2017 the lululemon store relocated to another vacant lot on
bethesda row unable to keep the stained glass window lululemon shipped it to britney's
brother hugh who told nbc washington it means a lot to us as it represents jaina we definitely wanted to preserve
that and have it in our home as a means of preserving jaina's memory and the impact she had to those who knew
her jaina's family started the jaina troxel murray foundation still in existence this foundation
provides scholarships to those in financial need with the hope that recipients will be afforded the same
opportunities that jaina had to succeed in life jayna's memory lives on in a video she
posted to youtube three months before she was murdered in the clip jaina can be seen living her
life to the fullest by going bungee jumping to celebrate her 30th birthday the video is accompanied by the song
learning to fly by tom petty and shows jaina as she and her family would want her to be remembered
full of energy joy and positivity [Music] [Music] you

Case 210: Jayna Murray

On March 11, 2011, two employees of the Lululemon Athletica yoga store in Bethesda, Maryland fell victim to a brutal attack carried out by two masked men. 30-year-old Jayna Murray was murdered, while 28-year-old Brittany Norwood survived the ordeal which included sexual assault, torture, repeated stabbings and burglary...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Jessica Forsayeth Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-210-jayna-murray

Brief Summary

Jaina Murray was murdered by coworker Britney Norwood during a robbery at lululemon, leading to a shocking investigation and trial.

Key points

The Launch of iPad 2. Steve Jobs unveils the iPad 2, igniting excitement across the nation.
A Disturbing Noise. Lara hears strange noises coming from the wall shared with the yoga store.
A Night of Horror. Jaina and Brittany face a brutal attack in the lululemon store.
Keith's Confession. Keith claims to have witnessed the robbery and assault, adding a twist to the investigation.
Britney's Terrifying Secret. Britney reveals she was in Jaina's car during the attack, fearing for her life.
Britney's Arrest. Britney was arrested for first-degree murder, coinciding with Jaina's funeral.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

God help me, please help me!

A desperate plea heard through the wall.

3:37WatchMay 7, 2022

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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