Police Arrest Co-Worker As Suspect In Death At Yoga Shop
ROCKVILLE, Md. (WJZ) -- There's a break in the case of a woman killed inside the Maryland yoga store where she worked. In a bizarre twist, an alleged victim has become the suspect.
Kelly McPherson has the shocking details.
Two witnesses also helped police make the arrest. They heard the two women arguing from the shop next door.
Brittany Norwood has been painted as a victim for a week, but now police say she beat up herself to cover up a murder.
Officers arrived to a bloody murder scene at Lululemon Athletica, an upscale yoga store in Bethesda, last Saturday.
Jayna Murray, 30, had been beaten and stabbed to death. She was also tied up.
Norwood, 27, was also there tied up and claimed that she and her co-worker had been raped by two masked men.
In fact, police say Norwood had beaten Murray to death, moved her car and created the scene.
"Our analysis of forensic evidence was not supporting Ms. Norwood's story," said Chief Thomas Manger, Montgomery County Police.
Police found only two sets of footprints--one from the suspect and one made by a pair of men's shoes Lululemon keeps in the store for customers to use while trying on clothes.
Those men's shoes were found at the scene.
The murder has rocked the busy downtown area and its yoga community linked to Lululemon. The company had promised more than $150,000 for information leading to an arrest.
"You have to take victims, especially victims of sexual assault, you have to take their story as truthful. You have to work on that assumption in the beginning," Manger said.
During a vigil for Murray on Friday night, there was a somber sense of calm.
Even people who didn't know Murray were out, coming together as a community and feeling a sense of relief that someone has been arrested.
"It's definitely a good sense of closure. I feel comforted that Montgomery County Police have done an amazing job. It's only been a week," said Emily Wexler, former Lululemon employee.
"It's just shame," said Adriana Cesar. "It makes it even more horrific."
It's not clear what the problem was that started the fight between them. Police say Norwood has not been cooperative since her arrest.
