A business that was rocked by the death of one employee and the assault of another over the weekend at its store in Bethesda, Md., is putting up a $125,000 reward for information that leads to those responsible for the crimes.
Lululemon Athletica spokesperson Alecia Pulman announced at a Monday afternoon news conference that the company will contribute $125,000 to find the people responsible for the death of employee Jayna Murray and the assault of one of her co-workers. That makes a total of $136,000 in reward money being offered.
Montgomery County Police held the news conference to provide an update on the homicide and assault that occurred over the weekend inside the Lululemon store in downtown Bethesda. Police believe it was a crime of opportunity.
Murray's family released a statement on Monday:
"The family of Jayna Murray greatly appreciates the many expressions of concern from the community. They currently wish to privately grieve their tremendous loss and are asking for the media's cooperation in respecting their privacy during this traumatic time."
On Saturday morning, an employee opening the fitness clothing retailer discovered two of her co-workers inside the store. Murray, 30, 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. They then set the alarm and left at about 9:45 p.m. 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 at 10:05 p.m., two men dressed in black and wearing masks also entered the store, according to officials. 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. Police said Murray also was sexually assaulted before her death.
The only description of the possible suspects was that they were men who wore dark clothing, ski masks and gloves. One was about 6-feet tall while the other was about 5-foot-3.
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. Police said Monday that her physical condition was improving.
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.
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Police also said they have received "good, solid leads" from the public that they are following up on.
The new reward from Lululemon is in addition to the $1,000 reward from Crime Solvers and the $10,000 reward offered Sunday by Federal Realty in Bethesda. Several other Bethesda businesses are currently in the process of making arrangements to contribute reward funds, according to officials. Anyone with information should call police at 866-411-TIPS.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post has more information about Murray, a native Texan who was a graduate student at The Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School. She previously worked for Halliburton's marketing department and graduated from The George Washington University in 2003, according to her LinkedIn profile.
According to Johns Hopkins, Murray was a part-time student pursuing two master's degrees -- an MBA and a Master of Arts in Communication.
"Pursuing two master’s degrees at the same time is demanding for any student, even more so when that student is studying part-time while working a primary job," read a statement from the school. "Jayna was known to handle these competing demands very well. She was well-loved by her fellow students, who will miss her greatly. She was also known in class as a frequent and valuable contributor to class discussions."
She also posted a video on YouTube of her bungee jumping for her 30th birthday.
Stay with NBC Washington for more updates as the story develops.
