The young woman who stands accused of killing a yoga store co-worker in Bethesda, Md., on March 11th was ordered held without bond Monday on a charge of first-degree murder.

Brittany Norwood (pictured above) is charged with killing 30-year-old Jayna Murray (pictured below). Norwood worked with Murray at the Lululemon Athletica yoga apparel store in an upscale suburban area of Bethesda.

According to police reports, Norwood told authorities that she and Murray closed the shop and left on the evening in question. When Norwood realized she left her wallet at the shop, though, both she and Murray allegedly went back to retrieve it. According to Norwood, it was then that they stumbled upon two masked gunmen who sexually assaulted them and left them for dead.

The next morning, a store manager heard groans coming from the back room and called local authorities. Police discovered Norwood had been tied up and Murray, the victim of a brutal beating, was dead.

As police interrogated Norwood, though, they began to find holes in the 27-year-old's story, which was also contradicted by physical evidence that they found on the scene.

Investigators discovered that there was no evidence of sexual assault at all. The two sets of bloody footprints, which Norwood said belonged to the alleged masked intruders, were actually traced to her and a pair of size 14 shoes that belonged to a mannequin display in the store.

A manager at the Apple store adjacent to Lululemon also told police that some shoppers in his store overheard two women locked in a heated discussion on the night in question.

Montgomery County police detectives summarized that Norwood had self-inflicted wounds and then tied up her own arms and legs after killing Murray. Authorities also found out that Norwood, who is a gifted soccer player at Stony Brook College in upstate New York, had been sued by her landlord for delinquent rent in the Columbia Heights section of Maryland.

Norwood was arrested on Friday, after her fourth police interrogation.

According to Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy, "Her cunning and her ability to lie is almost unparalleled," he said of Norwood.

He presented new evidence to the case during Monday's trial. Apparently, Murray had been asked by a store manager to check Norwood's bag for stolen merchandise. Murray called the manager that night to say she believed Norwood had been stealing.

The two women argued when Murray broached the subject of theft to nn
When the two women returned to the store under the false pretense that Norwood had concocted with regards to leaving her wallet at the shop, they began to argue. When Murray brought up the suspicion of theft accusation, the argument escalated to violence. Norwood allegedly picked up a weapon and proceeded to beat Murray with it for 20 minutes. According to McCarthy, Murray sustained a severed spinal cord and blows "too numerous to count."


"The nature of this crime is shocking in terms of the level of violence that was directed at the victim," McCarthy told the Associated Press.


Norwood appeared via videoconference from the jail where she is being held. She was silent during the brief hearing choosing only to respond to procedural questions, and her public defender declined to comment as he left court.

Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview with "Good Morning America," on Monday morning, Murray's parents said:

"We believe very, very strongly in the U.S. justice system and we are going to let the justice system prevail."

If found guilty Norwood faces the death penalty.

Given all of the evidence authorities have found so far, Norwood appears to be guilty. As the case goes on, the truth will come out and we will find out exactly what happened to Murray.

Watch the incident here: