Jury Only Needed An Hour
The Woodlands family of the bizarre yoga murder victim revisits the store aftertheir daughter's killer is convicted
Lululemon Athletica in Bethesda, Md.Photo by Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Victim Jayna Murray
Brittany Norwood could be sentenced to life in prison for the murder.
Jurors in Maryland convicted a woman of murdering her coworker, Jayna Murray, in a crime so brutal and so bizarre that it drew national attention.
Murray, a native of The Woodlands, was working at yoga clothing retailer LuluLemon Athletica in Bethesda with Brittany Norwood when the attack took place on March 11.
After Murray conducted a routine check of Norwood's bag and found stolen merchandise, Norwood lured Murray back to the store after closing and brutally attacked her, prosecutors said, inflicting more than 300 "stabbing, cutting, beating and choking wounds" using a half-dozen weapons.
Norwood then staged a scene to suggest the attack was committed by intruders, including tracking fake footprints in Murray's blood, staging her own injuries and tying herself up to wait until police arrived.
After a six-day trial, jurors deliberated for only an hour before declaring Norwood guilty of first-degree murder, a charge that could carry a sentence of life in prison.
Norwood's attorneys had argued that the crime was not premeditated but that she "lost it" and was only guilty of second-degree murder, which would have carried a maximum sentence of 30 years.
As the verdict was read on Wednesday, Murray's parents, David and Phyllis Murray, broke into tears, according to the Baltimore Sun. The Murrays — who still live in Texas — made a surprise visit to the LuluLemon store where their daughter was brutally murdered the next day to visit with friends of Jayna Murray and do some shopping.
"We came down to do Christmas shopping," Phyllis Murray told NBC Washington. "We always received Lululemon gifts under the tree. This year will not be any different."
The store visit concluded a heart-wrenching trip for the Murrays, who also spent some time in the back of the store where their daughter's body was found.
"More than anything, I know the trauma our family has been through," Phyllis Murray told The Sun after the trial. "I want no other family to go through this."
