The woman convicted in the brutal murder of a coworker at a Lululemon Athletica store in Bethesda Row is asking for a new trial, The Washigton Post reported.
Brittany Norwood is serving a life sentence for the shocking 2011 murder of Jayna Murray.
On March 12, 2011, police found an injured Norwood inside the Lululemon store, bound by a zip tie. She told police two masked men dressed in black attacked and sexually assaulted Murray and herself the previous night after closing.
But police quickly charged Norwood with the crime a few days later.
In an appeal filed Monday, Norwood's attorneys claimed Norwood wasn't informed of her right to remain silent and consult an attorney prior to interviews with investigators.
Those police interviews, her attorneys said, were heavily relied upon by prosecutors. Her attorneys also argued that a police officer's testimony was "improperly presented...as an expert opinion," according to The Post.
During her trial, investigators said Murray found store property in Norwood's bag and accused her of shoplifting. Norwood called Murray back to the store after she left, saying she'd left her wallet inside and needed to be let back in to get it. That's when Norwood attacked Murray, authorities said.
Murray suffered at least 331 wounds from various weapons -- a knife, a hammer, a wrench, a rope and a box cutter, at least -- including 107 defensive wounds.
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Norwood then bound herself and staged the scene, putting on men's size 14 sneakers to make large bloody footprints in the store to represent the tall man she said attacked them, the prosecution alleged.
In his closing argument, Norwood's trial attorney admitted his client killed her coworker but insisted the murder was not premeditated. He said an argument escalated into a fight and Norwood lost control.
