The woman accused of killing her co-worker at an upscale Bethesda yoga store faces an initial court hearing Monday, as local businesses expressed relief that an arrest has been made in the puzzling case. Brittany E. Norwood, 27, was arrested Friday in the March 11 attack at Lululemon Athletica, located at 4856 Bethesda Ave. Montgomery County police said 30-year-old Jayna Murray was stabbed and beaten to death after the two had an argument.
Norwood then concocted a story, police said, that the two had been attacked and sexually assaulted by two masked men.
That account jarred the Bethesda community; Lululemon and other local businesses were offering a $153,000 reward for information about the killer.
“Of course it’s a relief,” Paloma Edelman, manager of the nearby Dolcezza Gelato, said of the arrest. “People were asking about it all the time. Still, it’s very sad.”
Eddie Kijlertkittikul, manager at Tara Thai, said people had been reluctant to spend late nights at Bethesda Row businesses after the attack.
“We used to have people coming here late. This past week, it’s been quiet after 9 p.m.,” he said.
Norwood, who went to high school in Washington state and played college soccer at Stony Brook University in New York, has had a few legal run-ins before, but no criminal record of past violence.
No lawyer was listed for Norwood in court records Saturday, and family members could not be reached.
She was sued by her landlord in 2008 for failing to pay rent at a Columbia Heights apartment, D.C. Superior Court records show. Records indicate that she left that building later that year.
Norwood was cited for speeding in Maryland in August 2005, but never showed up in court to face the charge.
She was a decorated soccer player, according to her team profile and news accounts. She was named most valuable player at Stony Brook in 2001, when she started in all 19 games. She also earned first-team honors in the America East conference in 2002.
Police said officers began to doubt Norwood’s story when forensic evidence didn’t match her statements. Authorities said the motive for the apparent dispute between Murray and Norwood is still under investigation.
