Les MacDonald

                                     Here is a chapter list

 

   Part One: Women Who Have Murdered Their Partners

 

1.) From Prom Queen to Killer

2.) The Blue-eyed Butcher

3.) The Road Rage Murder

4.) With A Little Help From My Friend

5.) A Murder at Jack White's Inn

6.) The Suitcase Murder

7.) Murder by Milkshake

8.) A Modern Day Arsenic Murder

9.) The American Beauty Murder

10.) Excruciatingly Painful

11.) Guinevere Did It Again

 

                Part Two: A Mixed Bag of Murder

 

12.)The Lululemon Yoga Store Murder

13.) The Carnation Massacre

14.) The Peterborough Ditch Murders

15.) The Clear Lake Murders

16.) Murder on the Reno Strip

17.) The Scissor Sisters

18.) The Judith Ann Neelley Story

19.) The Claw Hammer Murders

20.) The Bleach in the Blood Murders

21.) The Stacey Lannert/Charity Carey Cases

 

Part Three: Women Murdering Their Children

 

22.) Laurel Schlemmer

23.) Diane Marsh

24.) Zheng Yongshan

25.) Nicole Diar

26.) Gertraud Arzberger

27.) Caroline Young

28.) Awilda Lopez

 

                     

 

                     Here is a chapter for you to check out.

 

                              Chapter 12: The Lululemon Yoga Store Murder

 

 

 

                                    

 

                                      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                         

                                                           Jayna Murray

 

 

 

    Bethesda, Maryland is known as one of the wealthiest and most educated communities in the US. The shopping area is known as Bethesda Row which is home to quite a few high-end boutiques and shops. With Lululemon being described as a high-end clothing boutique, it fit right in nicely. However, on the night of March 11, 2011 the store would be the site of a brutal murder. It wasn’t until the store was opening the next morning that the victim and another surviving store employee were found. The Montgomery County Police were called to the store at 8:12am. They arrived to a grisly crime scene that neither one would forget for a very long time, if ever.

 

 

 

 

                                                                           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          Lululemon Store on Bethesda Row

 

 

 

                                              

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                  

 

 

 

 

 

                          It was a grisly crime scene at the back of the store

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                             

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                        Brittany Norwood

 

 

   Jayna Murray, 31, was dead. She had obviously been the victim of a brutal attack. Jayna’s co-worker Brittany Norwood, 29, had cuts and bruises and appeared to be traumatized. Brittany told the police that the pair had been attacked by two men wearing ski masks. She said that the two men had entered the store at closing time. Later, Brittany told detectives that both women had been raped but the detectives were beginning to notice little inconsistencies in her story. Publicly, Brittany was being hailed as a brave survivor. Privately, the detectives working the case were having their doubts.

 

   Jayna had been the victim of a prolonged attack. A number of weapons had been used to inflict more than 300 separate wounds. She had been savagely beaten, choked and stabbed. The detectives wondered why Jayna had suffered the brunt of the attack while Brittany only received superficial wounds – several cuts and bruises. There was also no evidence of the sexual assaults that Brittany claimed took place. Jayna’s car had been moved from its usual parking space. Forensics found blood inside Jayna’s car. When tested, the blood was found to belong to Brittany Norwood. When asked how her blood could have gotten in Jayna’s car, Brittany said that she had been forced to move it by her attackers. According to Brittany, the men ordered her to move the car and return within ten minutes or she would die. She claims that she did what she was told and returned to the store instead of seeking help.

 

 

 

 

                                                     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                         A number of weapons were used including this hammer

 

 

 

   The detectives canvassed the area. They spoke with two employees of Apple Computers which was right next door to Lululemon. Both had been working on the night of the murder. The Apple store manager that night was Jan Svrzo. She said that she heard noises that night that “sounded like something thudding, hitting or dragging and grunting high-pitched squealing, yelping perhaps.” Svrzo also claimed to hear two distinct female voices. She said that one sounded hysterical. “Oh God, please help me!” Despite all of this, Jan did not make the call to 911. It seems quite clear that she was hearing the attack in progress.

 

   Brittany Norwood was arrested and charged with first degree murder six days after the attack. Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger said that Brittany’s story just didn’t add up. Manger: “As we began analyzing the physical evidence and looked at the medical reports, it was not supporting what Ms. Norwood had told us.” The trial would begin in October 2011. In his opening argument State Attorney John McCarthy said that Jayna Murray had been alive for most of the more than 300 blows that she endured during the vicious assault. The medical examiner testified that Jayna had 107 defensive wounds – more than he had ever seen on one person. John McCarthy: “Think about how long this took. Jayna is alive throughout almost all of this. The last wounds are from the knives. This was not slow. This was not painless. This woman struggled to survive.” The defence agreed that Brittany Norwood was responsible but claimed that the attack was not premeditated. Defence Attorney Doug Wood: “Jayna was killed by Brittany but not with premeditation. During that fight, Brittany lost it – there is no doubt about that. She lost control.” The Apple employees testified to what they heard on the night of the murder. Neither the prosecution nor the defence bothered to ask why they hadn’t called 9-1-1.

 

  Pictures of the victim and the crime scene were shown in the court on a projector eliciting gasps from the crowded courtroom. The defence had very few weapons to fight with. Their only hope was to convince the jury to convict Brittany of second degree murder. A first degree murder conviction would, almost surely, result in a life sentence. It didn’t take the jury long to decide. On November 2, after deliberating for a little more than an hour, they found Brittany guilty of first degree murder. Juror Donny Knepper spoke to the media: “What swayed everyone was the number of ferocious wounds to the head and face prior to the victim actually dying. The evidence was overwhelming.” Sentencing was scheduled for January 26, 2012.

 

   Jayna Murray’s family gave victim impact statements on that day. Jayna’s father David: “Of the many stages of grief, I have not moved away from rage.” Jayna’s mother Phyllis: “(Jayna’s death) was a pain that ripped through our bodies. The grief is like a lightning strike. It is so powerful. It is so intense. This individual must be removed from society forever.”  Jayna’s brother Hugh was serving in Iraq when he learned of the murder. The army captain wore his uniform in court. “Your honor, I am Hugh Murray and I am a victim of murder – my sister Jayna’s murder. Then, as he was breaking down, “nothing will ever return to normal. Nothing will ever be the same.” Hugh’s wife Kate said that they both suffer from nightmares. “There is no hope. There is no joy. There is no true laughter.” Just prior to sentencing, it was Brittany Norwood’s turn to speak. To the Murray family she said, “before I go to prison I needed you to hear how deeply sorry I am.” Her mother Sandre appealed to the judge. “Please, your honor. At least give her some hope. If you leave her with hope, you in turn leave our family with hope.”

 

   Judge Robert Greenwood used the following adjectives to describe the murder: “cold-blooded, brutal, calculated, deliberate, devious and malicious.” The judge continued, “I have no doubt, Ms. Norwood, that you are a deeply troubled person. However, my sympathy for your plight does not begin to approach what I feel for the Murray family.” He then sentenced Brittany Norwood to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Judge Greenwood: “You will live. You will see another sunrise, another sunset. It may be through a prison window. There’ll be Christmases, there’ll be telephone calls, and there will be visits. The only visits Jayna Murray will have will be those to her grave.”

  Brittany Norwood is currently serving her sentence in the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Jessup, Maryland.