Sentencing in Lululemon Murder Friday

Parole on the line for Brittany Norwood

The woman convicted of brutally murdering a fellow employee at a Bethesda Row store will learn her fate Friday.

A jury in November found Brittany Norwood guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of Jayna Murray inside a Lululemon yoga store last year. The charge brings a lifetime prison sentence, but Norwood's family and friends have been fighting for her chance at parole.

Families of both Norwood and Murray gathered in Montgomery County Circuit Court on Friday afternoon for the sentencing hearing.

In the courtroom, Jayna Murray's father David asked Judge Robert Greenberg not to show his daughter's killer any leniency. "My daughter's murderer should never be able to walk the streets again," he said.

"The grief is like a lightning strike... so powerful, we live with it every day," Jayna's mother, Phyllis told the court. She said later, "Life without parole is my request."

Before the Friday hearing, Norwood's family petitioned the judge to give her the chance of parole.

Her father, Earl Norwood, said his daughter has always had a “caring nature.” In a written plea to Judge Greenberg, he said, “I love my daughter more than words can say and I know she is worthy of a chance.” 

Norwood killed Murray last March. Murray’s body was found in a pool of blood on the floor in the store’s back hallway. Employees from another store testified they could hear her screaming for help.

The prosecution said Murray suffered at least 332 wounds from different weapons. Of those, 107 were defensive -- the most the state’s medical examiner has ever seen.

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