ROCKVILLE, Md. -- An employee at an upscale yoga shop killed a co-worker at the store after it closed for the night, then hurt herself and posed with her hands tied above her head so police would think they were attacked, according to court documents.
The document from a Montgomery County homicide detective was filed ahead of a scheduled court appearance Monday for Brittany Norwood, 28. It could not immediately determined if she had an attorney.
Norwood was arrested Friday and charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jayna Murray, 30, her co-worker at the Lululemon Athletica shop. The shop is in Bethesda, Md., an affluent suburb of Washington, D.C.
Norwood initially told police two masked men entered the store on the night of March 11 and sexually assaulted her and Murray during a robbery attempt. But police say that story was a lie and that Norwood killed Murray during a fight of some sort.
Norwood had told police that she and Murray were sexually assaulted by two men during a robbery. Since then, officials have said that tests indicated Norwood was not sexually assaulted, and that Norwood appeared to have self-inflicted, superficial scratches.
Police have said workers at an Apple store nearby had told investigators they heard two women arguing the night Murray was killed.
The Lululemon shop remained locked Monday morning, with strips of yellow police tape still attached to the door and its windows covered from view by large pieces of brown paper. Businesses along the street displayed white ribbons in Murray's memory.
The killing stunned residents and workers in Bethesda, where violent crime is rare. Some working in the area said they were somewhat relieved to know there weren't two killers on the loose as first thought.
Jill Kolakowski, 36, of nearby Chevy Chase, said she's been inside Lululemon and even thought Norwood looked familiar when she saw her on the news. The killing was striking because it seemed so random, she said.
"How much of a relief is it really when it could be a woman who babysat your children or a woman who sold you workout clothing?" Kolakowski asked.
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