Police continue to investigate a homicide inside the Lululemon store in Bethesda.
Saturday morning, an employee opening the fitness clothing retailer discovered two of her co-workers inside the store. One woman, 30-year-old Jayna Murray, was declared dead at the scene, and the other victim, age 27, was taken to a local hospital for treatment. Both had been physically assaulted.
Police determined the two victims closed the store at 9 p.m. Friday, leaving shortly after. One of the employees realized that she had left something in the store, but she did not have the keys to re-enter. She called her coworker, who had a set of keys, and they arranged to meet back at the store.
After the two women went back into the Bethesda Row store, two men dressed in black and wearing masks also entered the store. Police believed that the perpetrators entered into the crime with robbery in mind, but the incident escalated into violence.
The surviving victim had been sexually assaulted and bound.
The store is located in the upscale Bethesda Avenue commercial strip. Montgomery County police are investigating the death as a homicide. No word on what property was taken from the store.
The surviving victim is still in the hospital. Her injuries are not life threatening.
Investigators are checking video tape from nearby stores for clues in the crime. An Apple store is right next door, which was bustling on Friday with the release of the iPad 2. Authorities speculated the criminals may have been attracted to the area to prey on the computer store's crowd.
Mongtomery County spokesman Capt. Paul Starks said that the crime did not look like a random act. "We can't rule randomness out, " he said, "but these two people were prepared for a robbery - they had gloves, they had masks."
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Flowers have been placed in front of the Bethesda store in memorial to Murray. A realty company based in Rockville has offered a $10,000 reward for tips leading to the suspects' capture, in addition to $1000 reward being offered by the Montgomery County Crime Solvers.
Christine Day, the CEO of Lululemon, released the following statement Sunday:
We are devastated by the tragic events at our Bethesda store. We are focused on providing support to those that are most immediately impacted by this tragedy, and we know that you all feel the loss as well. Thanks to all of you for your outreach to support the stores and the people impacted. It is the outpouring of love and concern that will get us through these tragic circumstances.
The investigation continues. Stay with NBC Washington for more updates as the story develops.
