Jayna Murray

True Crime All The Time

This episode of True Crime All the Time examines the brutal 2011 murder of Jaina Murray at a Lululemon store in Bethesda, Maryland, and the elaborate cover-up orchestrated by her coworker, Brittany

Key takeaways

• Brittany Norwood staged her own injuries, bound herself with zip ties, and created fake shoe prints using size 14 men's shoes to support a false two-intruder narrative.
• Forensic evidence placed Norwood's DNA inside Jaina Murray's car, which she moved after the murder to hide illegal parking and stage the scene.

Main topics

• Murder investigation and forensic analysis
• Crime scene staging and cover-up tactics

Notable quotes

"I believe she was alive for all of them."

Conclusion

The episode underscores how forensic science and meticulous police work can

Transcript preview

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See terms at casino.draftkings.com slash promos. Ends November 22nd, 2026 at 1159 p.m. Eastern Time. Speaker 3 (1:48) everyone and welcome to episode 538 of the true crime all the time podcast. I'm Mike Ferguson. And with me is my partner in true crime, Mike Gibson. Gibby, how are you? Yeah, I'm doing good, man. How about you? Doing great. Yeah. Speaker 2 (2:02) Yep. Speaker 3 (2:02) Having an amazing week. We've got a lot of great content out for everybody. Yeah. We have an episode out right now on true crime all the time unsolved, which is on Claudia Kershaw. She disappeared. while staying at a Sandals in Negril, Jamaica back in 2000. And this is one that I've wanted to do for a while because I think everybody knows, I said it on the podcast, but I went to that Sandals earlier this year. My daughter got married there. And so this is an episode that I've been wanting to do. And then on next Thursday's episode, we're talking about Roxanne Houston. She disappeared while walking away from home on foot. Her body was found later in a shallow grave in a remote area. It's an interesting case because authorities had a lot of people to look at. Speaker 2 (2:59) Yeah, they really did. I mean, she lived with Speaker 3 (3:02) multiple people. One Speaker 2 (3:04) being Speaker 3 (3:05) her boyfriend and one being her ex-boyfriend. Speaker 2 (3:07) Yeah. Wow. Talking about a weird situation. Speaker 3 (3:10) Yeah. So make sure you check that one out next. Let's go ahead and give our Patreon shout outs. We had Claire Bear UK. Hey, Claire Bear. Joblin Agteresh. Speaker 2 (3:20) Well, thanks, Joblin. Speaker 3 (3:22) Sarah Kinsey. Hey there, Sarah. Anna Marie Penderis. Thanks, Anna Marie. Bernadette Pelletier. Well, Speaker 2 (3:28) Bernadette. And Speaker 3 (3:29) last but not least, Texas Mama Bear. Speaker 2 (3:32) Oh, they always say the mama bears in Texas are bigger. Okay. Speaker 3 (3:37) I'm not sure how a person is going to take that. Don't either. And if we go back into the vault. Speaker 3 (3:47) This week, we selected Chris Pitt. Hey, thanks, Chris. Yeah, we appreciate the new support, the continued support. All right, buddy, are you ready to get into this episode of True Crime All the Time? Speaker 2 (3:58) I'm ready. Speaker 3 (3:59) We're talking about Jaina Murray. On the morning of March 12, 2011, police found Jaina Murray dead inside the athletic apparel store where she worked and her co-worker, Brittany Norwood, tied up and injured. Brittany claimed that two men broke into the store, assaulted them both, and then killed Jaina. And initially, authorities treated Brittany as a victim. But as they worked to find the two assailants, they began to realize that her story just didn't add up. And this is a fairly well-known case. A lot of people may have heard this called the Lulu Lemon murder, but a fascinating one. Brittany Norwood grew up in Washington State, just outside Seattle. Her parents, Earl and Larkita Norwood, were known for being polite and friendly. Brittany was one of nine children and the youngest daughter. Nine Speaker 2 (4:57) kids, what? That is a brood. Man, that's a lot of mouths to feed. Speaker 3 (5:02) Well, you and I have complained in the past about our grocery bills. You know, with our... two kids each that we have, you know, when they were growing up, grocery bills were high, nine kids, man, I would have to get a second, maybe even a third job. Most Speaker 2 (5:22) definitely. Can you imagine taking nine kids to Speaker 3 (5:24) McDonald's? Not today. No, not today because a meal is like 11, 12 bucks. Speaker 2 (5:32) Yeah, man. You'd have to take out a second mortgage on your house to go to McDonald's. Speaker 3 (5:38) Even in years where their business struggled, the Norwood spent thousands each year. So their kids could participate in travel soccer club. Speaker 2 (5:48) Yeah. Those are expensive. Speaker 3 (5:49) Well, yeah, absolutely. Dance is expensive, right? Any type of travel sport, whether it's soccer, baseball, basketball, lacrosse, hockey, almost all of them have a travel aspect nowadays. Yeah. That stuff is. Up there. You're talking travel equipment. Speaker 2 (6:10) And even my wrestling back in the day, we had to travel, which means I had to have an extra singlet. You Speaker 3 (6:15) had to travel to get that singlet. Yeah. Because only one company made one small enough in the crotchular area that it fits you snugly. Okay. Speaker 3 (6:28) But it was said, Gibbs, that Brittany was a standout in high school soccer, known for being fast and unafraid of bigger players. She was rookie of the year as a sophomore and MVP as a senior. Impressive. Yeah, very impressive. Off the field, she was a mild-mannered student who earned good grades. Brittany wrote before her senior year, I hope to play soccer throughout my college years and someday play on the U.S. Women's National. Speaker 2 (6:58) That's something good to aspire for. Speaker 3 (7:00) Yeah. I mean, I think if you're a young girl, a young woman who is very into soccer, that U.S. women's national team would be, you know, one of those really high goals. Now, they only have a few spots, right? Yeah, very limited opening. That team is not made up of hundreds of people. Brittany studied sociology and played soccer. At Stony Brook University on Long Island, she attended the university from 2000 to 2004, but did not receive a degree. Head coach Sue Ryan said in a 2002 team release that Brittany had the mental makeup to be the best defender in the league, noting Brittany hates losing more than she likes winning. I feel like that's some Speaker 2 (7:50) saying out of an old movie. Speaker 3 (7:52) It has been said in movies. Um, I, I can't think, I don't, it might be money ball. Yeah. Brad Pitt might've said something like that. Um, but I have definitely heard that, uh, said about people in sports that they hate losing more than they like winning. Brittany's college friend, Glintus Michelle told the Washington post in the four years I knew Brittany, I never saw her upset, never saw her angry at anyone. she always had a big smile on her face. Overall, Brittany's teammates liked her, but there were two teammates who said Brittany stole cash from them. Leanna Ust told the Washington Post she and Brittany were best friends, but had a falling out because Brittany allegedly stole money and a designer shirt from her. Ust said she and others reported the theft to their coach, who Speaker 2 (8:50) declined to comment. Well, nothing worse than having a teammate steal something from you because, you know, you're supposed to have this special bond. You know, your teammates, you guys should trust each other. They always should have each other's back. And you go out to battle, you know, out on that field, the pitch, whatever you want to call it. You know, the last thing you need to worry about is your teammate. Speaker 3 (9:12) That's a big part of sport. Yeah. Right? The camaraderie, the I got your back, you got my back. Now, this is all alleged, so we don't know if she did this or not, but more than one person apparently said that she did. By 2007, Brittany was living in Arlington County, Virginia, to be near family. She worked at the front desk of the Willard Intercontinental, a luxury hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House. You ever stay at one of those Intercontinentals? I Speaker 2 (9:50) think I stayed one in Chicago once. Yeah, they're pretty nice. Yeah, Speaker 3 (9:53) they Speaker 2 (9:53) are. They didn't have a continental breakfast, though. Speaker 3 (9:56) No, they had an intercontinental breakfast. Brittany was soon assigned to manage VIP guests arriving in Washington. She helped them get checked in and settled. Despite the sometimes demanding job, Brittany was always upbeat. Former co-worker Catherine Garrett said Brittany was the staff cheerleader and the sunshine amid the storm. And this is kind of a common theme, right? We're hearing about Brittany. Pretty much everyone said she was always smiling, never down. Trying to lift people up. Again, as we keep saying, those are the type of people you want to be around. Absolutely. People have good attitudes like that. According to court papers and public records, Brittany appeared to encounter financial difficulties. In 2007, she and her roommate were evicted. In 2007, a lien was filed against her by New York State's Higher Education Agency. By 2011, Brittany was working at the Lulu Lemon store in downtown Bethesda, Maryland, in the city's high-end shopping district. Speaker 2 (11:06) Lulu Lemon. Speaker 3 (11:07) You love that place. I do. And you know what's funny? My wife and daughters have purchased and worn their stuff for years and years. Speaker 2 (11:18) Yeah. Speaker 3 (11:18) And it's really just within the last five years that my wife started buying me some stuff. And I was a little hesitant at first. But man, I love it. They make incredible stuff. I hope they get there one Speaker 2 (11:32) day. I'm still doing Lulu Lime because I Speaker 3 (11:34) can't Speaker 2 (11:35) really afford the lemon piece yet. Yeah, the Speaker 3 (11:36) lime is a little bit cheaper than the lemon. Yeah, Speaker 2 (11:39) yeah. Speaker 3 (11:40) Not as good. Not as good, yeah. Which I feel like should be the title of your autobiography. Not quite as good Speaker 2 (11:47) as the original. That really hurt, man. It'd be co-authored by Rex West. One of Brittany's Speaker 3 (11:57) co-workers was 30-year-old Jaina Murr. Jaina was the daughter of a Houston oil operations manager. She traveled around the world as a young girl. She tried Girl Scouts, but she found it boring, so she began tagging along to her brother's Boy Scout outings. Their father, a former Army officer, was the Scoutmaster. I think you've said it before, but you were in scouts for quite a while. I was. All the way up to a pretty high level. What was it? Speaker 3 (12:28) You said it one time, but I can't remember. I Speaker 2 (12:30) can't remember either. You start off with the... We blow. We blow. Then you go into... Scouts and Cub Scouts and Boy Scout and then Eagle Scout. Were you an Eagle Scout? Eagle Scout. Yeah. Speaker 3 (12:43) Wow. That's impressive. Jaina's brother, Hugh, told the Washington Post that her upbringing formed a strong sense of right and wrong. Jaina studied marketing in graduate school at John Hopkins University. While there, she noticed a friend's Lulu Lemonback. She became interested in the company's grassroots marketing strategies. And she wrote a paper about Lululemon, which got her a job at the company store in Bethesda. John Hopkins, that's pretty prestigious. It really. Or prestigious. Yeah. Speaker 2 (13:18) No, it really is. I mean, I think 1982, I did a little stint there. Mm-hmm. Too much longer after Doogie left, but. Speaker 3 (13:28) Is that when you were mopping up and that professor found that amazing. equation that you did on the board outside the classroom? No, Speaker 2 (13:38) that came later. Oh, that came later. Yeah. Yeah. This was more of a precursor to that. Speaker 3 (13:43) Did you just say precursor? Mensa. It was said that Jaina was a good fit for the role because Lulu Lemon typically hires outgoing, positive, and ambitious people. And I'll be honest, I have not been in Lulu Lemon a lot of times. Like I said, my wife and daughters have, they usually buy me something and bring it home, but I've been in a couple of times and everybody has been extremely helpful. Well, they have to be, it's a job Speaker 2 (14:14) of sales, right? You're there to sell very expensive legging shorts, shirts. So you better be positive and you better be like happy, go lucky. And you know, Yeah, but Speaker 3 (14:30) you could say that about a lot of stores and people aren't like super happy, seems like. Speaker 2 (14:37) No, I