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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
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time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
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please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website on march 2 2011 a frail looking steve
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jobs took to the stage of an art center in san francisco dressed in his iconic black turtleneck
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sweater and jeans the apple ceo addressed the sea of cheering reporters to unveil apple's newest creation
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the ipad 2 nine days later on march 11 crowds swarmed outside of apple stores throughout the united states with
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customers hoping to get their hands on the latest model ipad it was no different at a marylander
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store located on bethesda row nestled amongst exclusive boutiques and trendy restaurants the bethesda apple
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store did a roaring trade on the night of friday march 11. employees were run off their feet
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selling the ipad 2 in addition to serving other customers doing a spot of late night shopping
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after closing a few apple employees stayed back to get things in order just after 10 p.m the manager on duty
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lara not her real name was tallying up receipts at one of the tills when she suddenly heard a series of strange
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banging sounds lara asked one of the two security guards on duty to help her identify the
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origin of the noise separately they scoped out the two-story apple building as the noises increased
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in volume and frequency [Music] after a few minutes lara followed the sound and realized it was coming from
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behind the wall that apple shared with the store next door she walked over and put her ear up to
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the wall in addition to banging and thudding noises lara could also hear grunting and
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what sounded like something heavy being dragged just then lara heard a hysterical female
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voice emanating through the wall she raced upstairs to retrieve her senior manager who followed her to
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listen he could also hear a female who now sounded as though she was gasping for
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breath a scream then pierced the air [Music] lara asked if she should call the police
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but her manager didn't think it was serious to him it sounded as though someone had
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just received bad news he told lara quote i think it's just drama the security guard agreed and the three
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of them went back to work meanwhile the banging and thudding noises continued next door along with
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the occasional scream approximately nine minutes after lara first heard the noise the female voice
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yelled god help me please help me shortly after that it went quiet nearly one hour later just after 11 pm
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lara was the last apple employee to leave for the night she locked the front door to the apple
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building and went home oblivious to what had unfolded in the yoga store next door
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[Music] [Music] friday march 11 2011 was a change of routine for jaina murray who worked as a
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salesperson and supervisor at the lululemon athletica yoga store in bethesda the 30 year old didn't usually work
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fridays but she'd agreed to swap shifts with a co-worker given the release of the ipad 2 at the
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apple store next door jaina knew what would be a busy evening with extra foot traffic passing by
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but she was only too happy to help jaina had been at the yoga store for two years and loved working there
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the muscular five-foot five-inch tall jaina could be seen doing cartwheels and dancing with customers during quieter
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shifts bringing with her a sense of energy and joy wherever she went [Music] jaina arrived at the lululemon store two
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hours early to catch up on some personal work she took a seat in the back of the store
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opened her laptop and put on some music her boyfriend who lived in seattle was coming to visit her the following
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weekend and jaina wanted to make sure all her university coursework was up to date
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intelligent and determined jaina was completing her thesis to graduate with a master's degree in business
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administration and communication jaina was so impressed by lululemon's business model and philosophy that she
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jumped at the chance to use the company as the basis of her thesis this included writing a crisis
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communication plan that lululemon staff could implement in the event of an internal emergency
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the staff at the lululemon headquarters in vancouver canada were thoroughly impressed with her plan
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once jaina graduated she hoped to move to seattle with her boyfriend and then score a job at lululemon headquarters
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as jaina worked on her laptop she was interrupted by her co-worker who presented her with a bottle of wine as a
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token of appreciation for swapping shifts jaina happily chatted to her and some of
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the other employees on duty exuding a positive attitude that afforded her many friends wherever she
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went jaina lived life to the fullest it was this mindset that made her the perfect employee for lululemon
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she abided by one of the popular motivational quotes often seen advertised throughout lululemon stores
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to live every day as if it was your last [Music] 28 year old britney norwood was also
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having a lovely friday she spent the morning at a yoga class before meeting a friend for lunch
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afterwards she and her friend got their nails done and britney then rushed to lululemon making it just on time to
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start her 3pm shift britney had only been at the bethesda location for a few weeks having
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transferred from another lululemon store but so far she was enjoying it described as having a wide smile
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welcoming nature and good sense of humour she was quick to make friends like jaina britney was also a determined
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woman she had previously managed vip guests at a local intercontinental hotel but had
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taken a considerable pay cut for the opportunity to work for lululemon her goal was to use the yoga store as a
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stepping stone to her dream career of becoming a personal trainer and opening her own gym
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as brittany arrived at work that friday she was closer to realising her dream than ever before having secured a job
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interview at the local gym the following week [Music] friday nights were typically busy for
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the lululemon store and three salespeople were usually rosted on however one employee had called in sick
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and nobody was available to cover for her leaving jaina and brittany to hold down the ford on their own
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[Music] they didn't mind as they felt confident they could handle the workload as the queue of people waiting to enter
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the apple store next door increased it remained busy at the yoga store the line at apple was still out the door
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when lululemon closed at 9pm jaina and britney completed the closing protocol for the store
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as the more senior of the two jaina then switched off the lights set the alarm and locked the door
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at 9 45 pm the women said their goodbyes and went their separate ways the next morning lululemon store manager
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and owner rachel made her way to work at 8 a.m neatly dressed in workout gear and
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orange running shoes she sipped a coffee as she passed a few people waiting for the apple store to open
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when she reached the front door of lululemon she was displeased to discover that it was unlocked
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rachel swore under her breath at jaina for not locking up properly however as she stepped inside it
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immediately became clear that something terrible had happened merchandise and clothing was strewn
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throughout mannequins were lying on the floor and a flat screen tv had crashed and shattered
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on the ground rachel sidestepped the display table that had been moved and then stopped
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a bloody shoe print appeared in front of her outside the store a young man named ryan
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sat on a public bench absent-mindedly scrolling through his phone he had missed out on an ipad 2 the night
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before and had arrived at the apple store early to ensure he didn't go home empty-handed
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ryan looked up as rachel made a hasty exit out of lululemon on her phone to the police
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she asked ryan if he had seen anyone enter or leave lululemon that morning he hadn't but volunteered to check
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inside the store while they waited for police to arrive ryan made his way past the clothing
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racks and to the change rooms where the bloody shoe prints increased following their trail he called out
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there was no response after walking through a half door at the back of the store ryan came to another
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door that led to a rear hallway and emergency exit a large pool of blood had seeped
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underneath the door ryan tried to push it open but there was something heavy on the other side
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forcing it open just enough to stick his head through ryan discovered the body of
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a woman propped up against the door laying face down on the blood drenched ground
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blood was splatted high up the walls a length of rope was tied around the woman's neck and a red toolbox sat on
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her back with multiple blood-soaked tools surrounding her body panicked ryan made his way back outside
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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
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doorways tightly bound at the ankles by zip ties it was the body of another woman lying
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on her back with her wrists bound above her head she was covered in wounds to her face
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and upper body with blood coating her clothes the black yoga pants she was wearing had
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been ripped open at the crotch and a large white rock the size of a baseball lay beside her in a pool of blood
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within minutes two officers arrived and made their way to the rear hallway once they'd established that the
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perpetrator was no longer in the store one of the officers assessed the woman lying in the back hallway
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it was jaina murray it appeared she had been deceased for some time the officer then raced to the bathrooms
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where britney norwood lay on the floor her eyes were closed but she was still breathing
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the officer cut brittany free from the ziptie restraints and paramedics soon arrived to take her to a nearby hospital
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investigators from the montgomery county police department began their inquiries
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heading the case were detectives jim jury and dmitry reuven signs of a struggle were evident
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throughout the store the registers were open and receipts were scattered behind the counter
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three small safes had also been opened and their contents emptied indicating that robbery had been a motive for the
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assault on the two women meanwhile brittany underwent emergency treatment and regained consciousness
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she had sustained numerous lacerations to her stomach chest and legs and had shards of glass lodged in her back
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there was a large wound to her forehead and her right hand was covered in defense wounds from fighting off her
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attacker still in shock and pain she began to explain what had happened to her and
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jaina the night before the ordeal was so brutal that the officer who took down the statement
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couldn't believe what she was hearing at 9 45 pm jaina closed up the store and the women went their separate ways
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as britney walked to the nearby subway she realised she'd left her wallet behind
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she didn't have keys to the store so she called jaina to explain the situation coincidentally jaina had also
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accidentally left her laptop behind so she told britney she would meet her back at the store to retrieve their
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belongings they both arrived at lululemon just after 10 pm jaina opened the door and deactivated
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the security alarm but britney couldn't find her wallet anywhere the two women searched the rear of the
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store for about 10 minutes before giving up jaina gave britney her metro travel card so she could get home and promised
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she would look for the wallet again in the morning just then they realized they'd forgotten
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to lock the front door behind them when they came inside a man dressed head to toe in black
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clothing including gloves a hoodie and a ski mask snuck out from behind a clothing rack
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he hid jaina over the back of the head with a metal bar suddenly another man clad in the same
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attire appeared from a different clothing rack and grabbed britney by the hair he began cutting her with a sharp object
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warning that he'd slit her throat if she said a word the other man took jaina to the rear
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hallway while britney's attacker dragged her to the bathroom he yelled racial slurs at britney and
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called her a quote dirty [ __ ] he threw her to the ground and slid open her yoga pants at the crotch
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britney sobbed as she recounted the brutal rape that followed which included the use of a coat hanger from the store
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that had serrated edges to keep the garments in position at one point the attacker hit britney on
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the head with the hard object presumably the large rock found by her body causing her to drift in and out of
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consciousness while the assault continued all of a sudden britney's attacker demanded she be
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quiet britney listened closely and could hear voices coming from the apple store
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next door she prayed that someone would intervene and rescue her but nothing happened
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when the voices died down the masked man pulled britney to her feet and ordered her to open the cash registers and safes
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as she complied britney could hear jaina screaming from the rear of the store her screams became quieter and less
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frequent before stopping altogether the next thing britney remembered was being stretchered outside by a paramedic
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britney recalled that both of the men were of medium build but one was significantly taller than the other
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jaina's attacker was approximately six feet tall while the man who assaulted brittany was about five foot five and
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had no trouble overpowering her five foot three 120 pound frame from their voices she guessed they were
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young white american men but their black attire had covered most of their features
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britney blamed herself for the ordeal believing it wouldn't have happened if she hadn't forgotten her wallet
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after 48 painful minutes of recounting the night's events she asked is my friend okay
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britney's statement helped the crime scene investigators piece together a timeline of events
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as britney's attacker forced her to open the registers and safes both he and britney had tracked blood throughout the
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store the size seven and a half new balance shoe prints belonged to britney meaning
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the size 14 reebok sneakers belonged to her attacker authorities believed that the attackers
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had watched the two women go back into lululemon from afar and seeing an opportunity to burglarize the store had
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followed them inside seconds after they entered lululemon offered a 125 000 reward for
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leads resulting in the conviction of the men responsible the chief of police addressed reporters
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outside the store giving a description of the two suspects and pleading for witnesses to come forward
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adding we only have one eyewitness and she's been through a lot lara the employee from apple was
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interviewed later that day she broke down in tears when she discovered a woman had been murdered and
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another severely injured in an assault that she had largely dismissed jaina's murder had occurred a mere eight
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feet from where the apple employees had stood listening to her screaming the lululemon store didn't have indoor
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surveillance however there were cctv cameras positioned outside the rear of the apple store
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these cameras captured the back car park shared by apple and lululemon as detectives began watching the
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previous night's recordings nothing initially stood out but at 11 pm just after the attack took
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place two men entered the frame they were both dressed entirely in black the taller of the two wore a ski mask
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rolled up like a beanie and had a backpack slung over one shoulder the shorter man was talking on a phone
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the pair seemed in a hurry as they walked from the direction of lululemon and doubt a view of their cameras
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the detectives went frame by frame trying to get a clear picture of the man's faces but it was too blurry
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regardless they were certain these were the two suspects they were looking for as detectives focused on identifying the
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two masked men another lead came in as detailed in the book the yoga store murder by dan morse the day after the
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attack jaina murray's two-door silver pontiac g5 was found in a car park three blocks from the lululemon store
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that there was plenty of available parking much closer to the store when jaina returned at 10 pm
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this was puzzling an officer came forward to report that he'd been patrolling the car park at
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around 12 30 on the night of the attack 90 minutes after the two masked men were
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captured walking away from lululemon as he drove past to jaina's pontiac he noticed the headlights were on and
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someone was sitting in the driver's seat the officer considered pulling over to talk to the driver but changed his mind
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thinking they'd likely just parked for a quick cigarette the officer couldn't make out any
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details of the person in the driver's seat and continued on his way however two hours later he returned to
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the car park to find the pontiac in the same spot with its lights still on this time the officer couldn't see if
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there was anyone in the driver's seat and once again he drove off he patrolled the car park a third time
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an hour later to find the pontiac vacant with its lights off detectives considered that jaina's
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murderer may have been the person spotted in the driver's seat but they were at a loss to explain why
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word of the murder and assault of jaina and brittany spread around town and shocked the public
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it was unlike anything seen in bethesda where local police were usually concerned with minor crimes in the
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affluent neighborhood women who would normally be more than comfortable walking alone along bethesda
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row began travelling in groups and arming themselves with pepper spray in case they were next to be targeted
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a makeshift memorial adorned the sidewalk outside of lululemon as distressed locals lay flowers and cards
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one of which rad two beautiful souls one lost one deeply hurt the police tip line was a buzz with
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concerned locals phoning in their suspicions on who was responsible many could be dismissed almost
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immediately but there was one name that kept coming up over and over again keith lockett
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keith was a 40 year old homeless man who was well known to those who lived in bethesda
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with a reputation for getting drunk and verbally abusive many local women were terrified of him
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authorities questioned the manager of a local restaurant where keith typically visited every day
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only to find out that he hadn't come in on the friday or saturday when the attack took place
00:25:13
the manager of a nearby homeware store recalled seeing keith walk past lululemon on the friday of the attack
00:25:20
he'd had a backpack over his shoulder which struck the manager as odd because he'd never seen keith wearing a backpack
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he'd been in the company of two other men whom the manager had never seen before
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a former amateur boxer keith had a long rap sheet that included robbery assault and battery
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it didn't take long for officers to locate him he was in a hospital out of town being
00:25:51
treated for facial injuries including a swollen eye his clothes were covered in spots of
00:25:58
dried blood detectives rushed to the hospital speculating that jaina or britney may
00:26:05
have injured him in self-defense it made sense that he sought help from a hospital out of town to fly under the
00:26:13
radar keith's bloodied clothes were taken for dna analysis and once he was medically
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cleared he was taken to the montgomery county police station for questioning he strongly denied having any
00:26:29
involvement in the attack but admitted being near the lululemon store when it took place
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[Music] as detailed in the book the yoga store murder keith lockett told the detectives that
00:26:42
he had also been assaulted on the night of the attack hence his facial injuries he was assaulted by a quote short
00:26:52
spanish dude who hung out with a taller african-american man from gossip on the streets keith knew
00:27:00
the two men had recently paired up and were robbing stores in bethesda keith then became emotional
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he told detectives that he was standing across the road from lululemon when quote
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the black dude and the spanish dude robbed the lady and cut her i seen it with my own eyes
00:27:25
detectives didn't know what to make of keith's statement he was confused sometimes incoherent and
00:27:32
told the officers that he suffered from schizoaffective disorder which required medication
00:27:39
over the course of the interview keith's story changed multiple times and he later claimed to have seen a gang of
00:27:46
young teens riding skateboards out of the store workers at a homeless shelter who often
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supplied keith with meals and a place to sleep conceded that he could be rude but
00:27:59
they didn't for one minute suspect him of committing the attack the blood on keith's clothes was
00:28:06
determined to be his own furthermore none of his dna was found at the lululemon crime scene
00:28:14
with no physical evidence linking keith to the attack he was ruled out as a suspect
00:28:26
meanwhile the medical examiner working on jaina's autopsy assumed that she'd been a victim of a motor vehicle or
00:28:32
bicycle accident given that her face and scalp were covered in so many bruises lacerations and wounds
00:28:41
jaina's face was so disfigured by various injuries that her features were unrecognizable
00:28:48
lacerations on her face continued to her torso and back and ranged in size from nilly pinprick to 4
00:28:56
inches the crotch of jaina's leggings had been slashed and an area of blood suggested to the medical examiner that
00:29:04
like brittany jaina had also been sexually assaulted fibres of rope found in jaina's clenched
00:29:13
hands matched the piece of rope tied around her neck indicating that she had struggled to free herself
00:29:20
however her death wasn't caused by strangulation but from a one-inch stab wound sustained at the base of her skull
00:29:29
presumably caused by a knife the stabbing had severed her brainstem in total jaina had sustained 13 skull
00:29:40
fractures and at least 331 separate injuries of which 152 were to her head and 105 were defensive wounds
00:29:52
jaina was a chronic nail-biter and even though she had fought hard against her attacker her nails were too short to
00:29:59
have collected any dna from her perpetrator jaina's wounds had been caused by various objects which had been taken
00:30:08
from in the store and many from the toolbox that had rested on her back these items included a wrench a footlong
00:30:17
metal bar a metal display hook a hammer a box cutter a buddha statue and an exacto knife all of which were found
00:30:27
around jaina's body [Music] by the evening of monday march 14 three days after the attack britney had been
00:30:38
released from hospital and was resting up at home her parents had flown in from across the
00:30:44
country and she was surrounded by her eight siblings whom she was extremely close to and who dropped everything to
00:30:51
support her they were extremely worried about britney as she'd become with the drawn
00:30:57
and was hardly sleeping friends also rallied around her sending her messages of love
00:31:06
desperate for more information detectives drury and reuven went to interview britney once more
00:31:13
britney struggled to talk as she relived the violent assault again she recalled how the two men were
00:31:20
laughing as they carried out the burglary rape and murder describing it as like a scene out of the violent video
00:31:27
game grand theft auto britney paused there was something she had been keeping to herself out of sheer terror that the
00:31:38
master perpetrators would return bursting into tears brittany told the detectives that her attackers knew where
00:31:47
she lived britney explained that the two men were rifling through the contents of her bag
00:31:54
when they found two separate utility bills showing her name and address she was now terrified that they were
00:32:02
going to pay her a visit the detectives reassured the norwoods that it was highly unlikely her
00:32:09
perpetrators would return but warned them to be on the lookout for any suspicious behavior from people in the
00:32:15
street as the detectives prepared to leave britney's brother chris asked to speak
00:32:22
to them outside he asked them why they thought the killers had spared his sister when jaina
00:32:30
had been so savagely murdered as detailed in the yoga store murder one of the detectives asked chris what kind
00:32:39
of person britney was he paused before saying [Music] my sister is a very secretive person
00:33:00
case file will be back shortly thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode sponsors
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case file that's b e t t e r h e l p dot com slash case file it was a night like any other for case
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file team member jess she ate dinner with her family talked to the kids about school and then suddenly she was gone
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on the same day that britney was being interviewed at her home by detectives sergeant craig wittenberger entered the
00:36:07
lululemon store to continue his investigation one detail continued to plague him
00:36:16
why were only britney's shoe prints and one other pair found in the store when there were two masked men involved in
00:36:23
the assault furthermore why were there no bloody shoe prints outside the store either at the front or
00:36:31
back entrance as sergeant wittenberger re-examined the front of the store he noticed a table
00:36:38
had been pushed up against the wall in all the commotion when he slid it back he found that the
00:36:45
table had drawers underneath opening one he pulled out a pair of shoes men's reebok size 14 sneakers
00:36:57
their tread was an exact match to the larger bloody shoe prints left in the store
00:37:04
the smaller shoe prints stopped abruptly in front of a sink at the back of the store
00:37:09
indicating that whoever wore them had removed them in an attempt to clean them a strange pattern of scalloped blood
00:37:18
marks then trailed from the sink back to the table drawer where the reeboks were
00:37:23
found analysis showed that the marks were from shoelaces that were wet with diluted
00:37:30
blood every time the person stepped the ends of the shoelaces flicked on the floor
00:37:37
and left a small mark detective reuven questioned store manager rachel about the reeboks
00:37:46
she told him that the shoes were owned and kept at lululemon for their male customers to try on when buying pants
00:37:55
that way any alterations that needed to be made to the length of the pants could
00:37:59
be done in store it was a major breakthrough a forensic examiner concluded that the
00:38:09
reebok prince appeared to have been staged as the print patterns were inconsistent with normal movement
00:38:17
detailed in murder in the yoga store by peter ross range detective ruben considered this evidence
00:38:24
and told his shocked colleagues the footprints never left the store because the killer never left the store
00:38:37
on wednesday march 17 six days after the murder britney arrived at the police station having agreed to provide hair
00:38:45
and fingerprint samples to help with the crime scene analysis britney was taken to an interview room
00:38:52
where she was told that the technicians collecting the samples had been delayed while they waited detective drury
00:39:00
pressed britney to recall the night's events one more time she retold the story nearly word for
00:39:08
word sobbing in parts when she finished detective drury asked if she had ever been in jaina's car
00:39:16
before britney replied no the detectives knew she was lying [Music] forensic examination of jaina's pontiac
00:39:31
had revealed blood on the car's stick shift the steering wheel and the inside of the door
00:39:38
dna analysis showed the blood belonged to two people jaina murray and brittany norwood
00:39:47
a black lululemon cap in the backseat had a blood stain on the inside in the exact same position as the wound that
00:39:54
britney had obtained to the center of her forehead dna analysis confirmed it was britney's
00:40:02
blood detectives wondered if britney could have been the person the patrol officer
00:40:08
had seen sitting in the driver's seat after the attack this speculation was not enough to place
00:40:15
britney under arrest and so she was permitted to leave the station the next day britney's brother chris
00:40:23
called the detectives to let them know that his sister had something she wanted to get off her chest
00:40:30
britney soon arrived at the station with chris and one of her sisters by her side
00:40:37
she told detectives there was something she had been keeping from them because she was frightened
00:40:43
she had in fact been in jaina's car on the night of her murder britney claimed that midway through the
00:40:51
assault her attacker ordered her to move jaina's car which was parked outside the
00:40:55
store he didn't offer any explanation as to why but as detailed in murder in the
00:41:02
yoga store britney told detectives quote they said that if i was to pass anyone and open my mouth i can consider myself
00:41:12
dead and that one of them would be watching me the entire time i remember seeing a cop and i was just
00:41:20
too scared to even flag him down britney said she parked the car a few blocks away and walked back to lululemon
00:41:30
passing pedestrians whilst covered in blood nobody noticed her injuries and she was
00:41:37
too scared to ask anyone for help detectives drury and ruben were beyond a dubious and figured that britney was
00:41:46
trying to cover her tracks they questioned why she didn't keep driving to safety
00:41:54
she explained that her attackers knew where she lived and she didn't want them to come back
00:42:00
no matter how hard the detectives tried britney didn't budge from her story eventually they gave up
00:42:10
they summoned britney siblings into the interview room and said britney killed jaina
00:42:21
britney's siblings listened in horror as detective drury detailed the extensive evidence that pointed to britney norwood
00:42:28
is the sole perpetrator of the assault that killed jaina murray any credibility to her story about two
00:42:37
masked men was dispelled when the men captured on cctv were identified as two kitchen hands in a nearby restaurant
00:42:45
hurrying to work the men were interviewed by detectives and ruled out as suspects immediately
00:42:54
it was purely coincidental that they happened to walk into the cctv surveillance just after the attack had
00:43:01
taken place the week of forensic investigations into the store had provided ample evidence
00:43:09
that pointed to britney's guilt with the analysis of jaina's car being the final
00:43:14
piece of the puzzle further interviews with the apple employees who heard noises coming from
00:43:21
the lululemon store revealed they heard not one but two female voices on the night of the attack
00:43:29
they seemed to be arguing loudly before the screaming began just before one of the women could be
00:43:37
heard yelling god help me another female voice was heard screaming talk to me don't do this
00:43:46
what's going on from the very beginning even britney's brother chris had found it strange that
00:43:54
jaina had received such brutal injuries while britney had received superficial injuries that only required a short stay
00:44:01
in hospital brittany tried to explain this to detectives saying that she had been
00:44:08
spared from the brunt of the attack because her rapist said she was quote fun to [ __ ]
00:44:16
however britney was examined by a nurse trained in treating victims of sexual assault
00:44:23
she found there were no clinical signs that britney had been raped nor any physical injuries that would be expected
00:44:30
following a rough sexual assault with a coat hanger there were also no traces of semen found
00:44:37
at the scene even though jaina's pants had been slit she hadn't been sexually assaulted
00:44:45
either the area of blood near her genitals was actually pulling from another wound on
00:44:51
her body in her original statement to detectives brittany claimed she had not been near
00:44:59
jaina's body once the two had been separated however three days after the attack
00:45:06
britney provided another statement in which she claimed to have just remembered that her attacker had pushed
00:45:12
her onto jaina's bleeding body in an effort to psychologically torture her detectives believed britney had made up
00:45:21
this story to explain why traces of her blood were found on jaina's body it was determined that all of the
00:45:30
injuries britney sustained could have been self-inflicted the lacerations to her upper back were
00:45:37
only in positions that someone could reach with their own hands they were all superficial and uniform in
00:45:44
depth and appearance indicating britney hadn't struggled when they were being inflicted
00:45:51
britney had claimed she'd been cut with the various instruments while she had her clothes on however there were no
00:45:58
lacerations in any of her clothing when britney was found her hands were zip-locked together high above her head
00:46:08
there was no reason for this as she could have lowered her arms any time it seemed to detectives that she was
00:46:16
putting on a show analysis of the zip ties used to restrain her wrists and ankles revealed
00:46:25
bite marks and dna where britney had used her teeth to secure them herself a two-inch laceration between britney's
00:46:34
right thumb and forefinger was originally labelled a defensive wound caused by a knife
00:46:41
however analysis of the laceration indicated it had been caused by a knife slipping in britney's hand as she
00:46:48
stabbed a jaina and lost her grip because the attack on jaina had been so brutal and left her face so disfigured
00:46:59
it pointed to someone who knew jaina and had immense feelings of hatred towards her
00:47:04
not a random burglar it begged the ultimate question why would brittany murder jaina
00:47:14
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to sign up for your trial thank you for listening to this episode's ads by supporting our sponsors
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you support case file to continue to deliver quality content britney norwood came from a family of
00:50:27
high achievers she performed well in school and received good grades but it was on the
00:50:32
soccer field that she really shone britney received an athletic scholarship at stony brook university where she was
00:50:40
named the team's most valuable player with dreams of becoming a social worker brittany was also studying sociology and
00:50:48
psychology but in 2004 she was asked to leave the university after multiple friends
00:50:55
accused her of stealing from them britney broke down and admitted to it she promised not to do it again however
00:51:04
she didn't stay true to her word she later stole 300 from one of her sister's purses during a family
00:51:12
gathering although she wholeheartedly denied doing so although she had told family and friends
00:51:20
she had graduated britney left the university before completing her degree she secured a job working at the willard
00:51:28
intercontinental hotel situated a stone's throw from the white house things were looking up for britney she
00:51:36
was well liked and quickly promoted once winning the title of employee of the quarter
00:51:43
however britney also had a secretive side in 2007 she broke up with her boyfriend
00:51:50
of 18 months the following year she broke into his house and stole various items including
00:51:57
jewellery blank checks and car keys britney's axe filed a restraining order against her claiming she had also been
00:52:06
physically abusive towards him and he feared for his safety britney violated the restraining order
00:52:13
within two weeks and an arrest warrant was subsequently issued but never executed
00:52:20
authorities were busy with more serious crimes and the warrant expired after a year
00:52:28
with the goal of becoming a personal trainer britney left her job at the hotel and started working at the
00:52:34
lululemon store in georgetown dc shortly after a co-worker accused her of stealing money from the tills
00:52:43
in january 2011 britney was fired after her boss accused her of abusing her store discount
00:52:52
britney disputed this and in the end management at lululemon decided not to fire her
00:52:59
instead she was transferred to the bethesda store as detailed in the book the yoga store
00:53:07
murder after meeting up with her future co-workers britney sent one of them a text message which read
00:53:15
you have such a solid team i know it'll be a great experience over the coming weeks several employees
00:53:26
at the bethesda store noticed that certain items were missing when these employees confronted the
00:53:32
store manager she checked the roster and noticed britney had been working each time that something disappeared
00:53:41
two days prior to the store attack at a weekly leadership meeting which included
00:53:46
jaina murray the team huddled together and discussed how they were going to catch britney in the act so she could be
00:53:52
legitimately fired they joked about setting up a nanny cam inside the store in the end the team decided that the
00:54:03
best course of action would be to announce to all staff the possibility that a thief was amongst them and then
00:54:10
see what happened before their co-workers left on friday march 11 jaina commented
00:54:19
i have to close with the thief tonight do you think i will catch her jaina and britney worked happily
00:54:28
together that evening but when it came time to lock up jaina asked to look inside britney's bag
00:54:35
it was store policy to do so when britney opened her bag jaina spotted a pair of lululemon yoga pants
00:54:43
with tags attached but no store recede britney denied stealing them claiming she had bought them earlier in the day
00:54:53
as the computer system had already been shut down for the night jaina told britney not to worry they would sort it
00:55:00
out later then they left the store on her way to her car jaina called the employee who britney claimed sold her
00:55:11
the yoga pants the employee denied doing so jaina called her boss rachel who told
00:55:20
jaina not to worry about it now that they had caught britney in the act rachel planned to dismiss her the
00:55:26
following day just as jaina began driving home her phone rang it was britney who had lost her wallet
00:55:37
and needed jaina to let her into the store as detailed in murder in the yoga store
00:55:44
after being led inside britney likely asked to jaina what was going to happen now that she had been found with stolen
00:55:51
merchandise although the details of the conversation aren't known their escalating voices
00:55:59
could be overheard in the apple store next door forensic analysis showed britney first
00:56:07
attack to jaina in the back storeroom by hitting her on the back of the head with
00:56:11
a metal bar jaina attempted to fight back but the violent attack continued the final blow was from a knife kept in
00:56:21
the back room of the store jaina had parked her car in a no standing area right outside the store
00:56:30
thinking she'd just be running in for a few minutes knowing that jaina's car would draw
00:56:35
attention there britney rummaged through jana's bag until she found her keys she drove jaina's pontiac to a parking
00:56:44
lot three blocks away where she sat to think about what to do next had the patrol officer investigated when
00:56:52
he drove past he would have caught britney covered in blood britney returned to the store and stood
00:57:00
in the huge amount of blood that had pulled around jaina's body she then walked bloody shoe prints
00:57:06
around the cash registers and safes before replacing her shoes with the men's reeboks kept in the store and
00:57:12
repeating the process britney then washed both pairs in the back sink she put her new balance running shoes
00:57:22
back on and walked the reeboks back to the drawer in the table as she walked her own shoelaces left
00:57:30
little marks of diluted blood brittany then threw clothes from the hangers and toppled over mannequins to
00:57:38
make it appear as though a struggle had taken place at some stage she slit the crotch of
00:57:45
jaina's pants to make it seem as though she had been sexually assaulted with the scene complete britney then
00:57:53
inflicted several cuts to her own body cut open the crotch to her yoga pants restrained her hands and feet and lay on
00:58:01
the bathroom floor all she had to do then was wait for someone to find her britney's brother and sister sat in
00:58:16
shock as detective drury listed the evidence pointing to britney's guilt they did not believe she could unleash
00:58:24
such a brutal assault resulting in murder over a pair of stolen yoga pants detective drury was upset for the
00:58:33
norwood family as he considered them lovely and cooperative people britney's father had even invited him to
00:58:40
go fishing once the investigation was over the detective himself struggled to come
00:58:47
to terms with britney's guilt telling her family quote i did not want to believe it at first
00:58:55
i did not want to believe it on friday march 18 one week to the day since the attack britney was arrested
00:59:06
for first-degree murder the day of the arrest coincided with the jaina's funeral
00:59:13
over 200 people gathered to say goodbye to jaina including the founder and ceo of lululemon
00:59:22
as jaina's parents drove to the chapel they received a call from detectives informing them they had made an arrest
00:59:31
they were horrified to learn the person who killed their daughter was britney norwood
00:59:36
[Music] following britney's arrest the state prosecutor met with the jaina's family
00:59:45
to see if they would accept a plea deal instead of going to trial the plea bargain entailed that britney
00:59:52
would serve 15 years of her sentence and then become eligible for parole jaina's family refused to accept this
01:00:01
and a trial date was announced ten days before the trial the judge dealt a blow to the prosecution
01:00:11
they would not be allowed to give evidence regarding the telephone conversations between jaina and rachel
01:00:16
just prior to the murder in which jaina told her boss she had caught britney stealing
01:00:23
classified as hearsay this ruling was critical as it meant that the prosecution could not argue a motive for
01:00:30
jaina's murder britney's trial began on october 24 2011 in the montgomery county circuit court
01:00:40
in rockville maryland over 200 exhibits and 25 witnesses were called including the apple store
01:00:48
employees who recounted hearing jaina's cries for help the prosecutor conceded that britney had
01:00:56
played her part very well he admitted that had she discarded the men's reebok shoes instead of returning
01:01:04
them to the draw and left jaina's car parked in its original location britney may have gotten away with murder
01:01:14
in his opening statement britney's defense attorney stunned the jury and onlookers when he cut straight to the
01:01:21
point and admitted to britney's guilt saying there was a horrific fight and during
01:01:28
that fight britney norwood lost it jaina was killed by brittany there was no point in maintaining her
01:01:38
innocence the evidence against her was too overwhelming rather britney was seeking to be
01:01:45
convicted for second-degree murder instead of first on november 2 2011 the jury deliberated
01:01:54
for only 21 minutes before finding britney norwood guilty for the first degree murder of jaina murray
01:02:04
as both families cried at the verdict britney remained still and silent showing no emotion
01:02:12
less than 24 hours later jaina's parents went shopping at the bethesda lululemon
01:02:18
store that had since reopened following their daughter's murder her father david told cbs that there was
01:02:26
an important reason for their visit saying nothing will start until we pass the first day of the new normal we're
01:02:34
searching for so this was the appropriate location jaina's mother added we have always had lululemon gifts under
01:02:45
the tree for christmas and we decided this year was not going to be any different
01:02:58
britney was sentenced two months later on january 27 2012 with over 200 spectators crowding the courtroom
01:03:08
jaina's family spoke openly about the impact that her murder had on their lives with her brother hugh saying
01:03:16
march 12 2011 was my family september 11 2001. nothing will ever be normal nothing will ever be the same
01:03:30
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
01:03:38
in the smoke up to heaven jaina's murder had a profound impact on his two young boys and he told the
01:03:47
courtroom that instead of checking the closet for bogeymen before bed they check for britney norwood
01:03:56
brittany finally broke the silence that she'd maintained for the entire trial begging for mercy and a chance of parole
01:04:04
in tears she said for the murray family what do i say when your daughter's gone and i'm the one
01:04:12
convicted of her murder i know what i say today won't take the pain away over the loss of jaina
01:04:22
i hope for the murray family someday you'll be able to find forgiveness in your heart
01:04:28
i am truly sorry to illustrate the horrific nature of the assault and murder committed by brittany
01:04:37
an emotional judge told the courtroom that one night he went home and banged his fist against the table 300 times
01:04:46
this was to mimic the hand movements of britney as she attacked jaina it took him over eight minutes
01:04:56
he told brittany you mutilated this woman and with every blow you had a chance to think about
01:05:04
what you were doing you reveled in the gore and the lies that you told afterward were incredible
01:05:12
you're one hell of a liar ma'am addressing the families the judge was overcome with emotion as he said
01:05:23
we don't pick our families but frankly if i had to pick a family i'd want either the norwoods or the murrays
01:05:33
brittany was then sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole
01:05:40
jaina's family clapped and cheered as the sentence was read out outside of the courtroom jaina's father
01:05:48
said the apology from britney was too little too late and just a last-ditch effort to have her sentence reduced
01:05:57
britney appealed her conviction on the grounds that her initial interviews with detectives should have been omitted from
01:06:03
the trial as she hadn't been read her miranda rights the appeals judge dismissed this saying
01:06:10
that britney was initially interviewed as a victim not a suspect [Music] jaina's murder continued to impact staff
01:06:22
at the apple store next door with manager lara relocating to another store the security guard who was on duty the
01:06:31
night of the murder felt immensely sad about his role in the night's events having previously worked in rough
01:06:38
neighborhoods had never crossed his mind that something more than an argument between two people was happening in the
01:06:44
yoga store had he been working in a more dangerous location he would have acted on the
01:06:51
noise jaina's brother hugh was serving in the military at the time of the murder and
01:06:58
had left iraq to be with his family in the wake of the crime when he returned to iraq several weeks
01:07:06
later a parcel was waiting for him it was from jaina who had mailed it shortly before she was killed
01:07:15
as detailed in the yoga store murder hugh opened it hesitantly aware that it would be the final communication he
01:07:23
would ever have with his sister jaina had sent him a running cap with a greeting card that listed things that
01:07:31
didn't work on their own chips without dip macaroni without cheese me without you
01:07:41
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
01:07:55
glass window was erected over the doorway to the main entrance of the bethesda lululemon store in her memory
01:08:03
the colorful mosaic featured the word love emblazoned in red cursive script it became a local landmark known
01:08:12
throughout town as the love window in december 2017 the lululemon store relocated to another vacant lot on
01:08:22
bethesda row unable to keep the stained glass window lululemon shipped it to britney's
01:08:29
brother hugh who told nbc washington it means a lot to us as it represents jaina we definitely wanted to preserve
01:08:40
that and have it in our home as a means of preserving jaina's memory and the impact she had to those who knew
01:08:49
her jaina's family started the jaina troxel murray foundation still in existence this foundation
01:08:57
provides scholarships to those in financial need with the hope that recipients will be afforded the same
01:09:03
opportunities that jaina had to succeed in life jayna's memory lives on in a video she
01:09:11
posted to youtube three months before she was murdered in the clip jaina can be seen living her
01:09:19
life to the fullest by going bungee jumping to celebrate her 30th birthday the video is accompanied by the song
01:09:28
learning to fly by tom petty and shows jaina as she and her family would want her to be remembered
01:09:35
full of energy joy and positivity [Music] [Music] you