Ep 7: The Lululemon Murder (with Jacob Griffin)

Detective Society

Guest Host Jacob Griffin joins us to talk about the murder of Jayna Murray, AKA the Lululemon Murder. Join us as we discuss corporate culture, almost cults, and vicious yogis.

Show Intro:

Just a quick trigger warning: descriptions of sexual assault

On March 11th 2011 Jayna Murray and Brittany Norwood were working the closing shift at the Lululemon Store in BEthesda, MD. Lululemon was and still is a popular, high end store that sells athletic and leisure wear (that year they actually struggled to keep up with the demand for their luxurious line of yoga pants)

That night though, the 2 women were just closing down the store.
Jayna was about 10 minutes away from the store when Brittany called her to ask her to come back and unlock the door. Brittany had forgotten her wallet.

She turned her car around.

No one would hear from the girls again until 8 AM the next morning.
No one would hear from Jayna ever again.

When employees came to open up the store on Bethesda Row, what they found was a literal nightmare.

They immediately knew something was wrong. The store was a mess and they could hear moaning and bloody footprints led to the back room.

Brittany was tied up on the floor, where she had been all night. They could see she'd been beaten and the seam of her pants and underwear had been torn open.

Jayna's body was unrecognizeable. I saw the crime scene photos and I don't suggest our listeners do the same. I literally did not know that a human body contained that much blood.

When police arrived, brittany was a complete wreck. She seemed to be deeply traumatized and flinched when anyone went to touch her.
The store had not cameras or secutiry system, but Eventually, Brittany was able to tell them exactly what had happened.

Two men had broken into the store, they'd forced the girls into the back room where they savagely raped both of the women before turning their rage on Jayna alone.

Norwood described being raped with a coat hanger by one of the men while another beat Murray and dragged her across the floor by her hair.

“They were laughing the entire time,” she said in the police interview. “They thought it was funny.”
Later, investigators would find that multiple weapons had been used to murder Jayna. She had over 300 stab wounds, caused by a hammer, wrench, a knife and peg used to hold merhcandise up to the walls of the store.

Brittany was treated for her wounds, and a rape kit was administered. Jayna's family was notified of her murder.

Police begain a manhunt for the 2 men who had murdered Jayna. But just 6 days later, on March 18th, Brittany Norwood, the woman who had been beaten and bound, who had endured the attack along side with Jayna was arrested for her murder.

This is the Lululemon Murder.