D (3:34)

I think we've all seen the type of person who is super into yoga because there's darkness lurking and gets super into exercise, generally because there's darkness lurking and there's ang.

E (3:49)

That's a woman named Kat. She used to work at a Lululemon store.

D (3:53)

And there is, at Lululemon, this culture of intensity. Like, you're going to your workout classes and you're wearing the clothes and you are setting your goals and you're going to achieve your goals. And I can see how, like, it's not a lot of lackadaisical, laissez faire kind of personalities.

E (4:14)

Kat worked at Lululemon on a Pretty street in SoHo in New York. Back then, she had just graduated college. She was an aspiring writer, new in the city, in need of a job.

D (4:26)

So I figured I should get a retail job. And the Lululemon was hiring. I knew nothing about Lululemon really. Like, I knew that sort of basic girls wore it, but I didn't own anything by it.

E (4:38)

Kat didn't know that the company culture and some of the people there would be kind of intense.

D (4:45)

So I went to my interview, which, looking back on, was fully crazy. Like, it was a group interview. And they sat us down on the floor in a circle. And I was definitely the only person who didn't own anything by the brand. And I remember there was this one lady who had just quit her corporate job to come work at Lululemon because she was so obsessed with the brand and so obsessed with product. And she was wearing head to toe, Lululemon and knew everything about it, and she really wanted that job. But hilariously, I got it because at the time, they were introducing running clothes, and I was a runner. And so they wanted to hire someone who could product test the running clothes and, like, sell them in the store, which I did, which was pretty sweet, because then they would pay me to go on runs and stuff. So it was actually pretty great.

E (5:34)

There were other perks, too. Like employees were given a debit card with some money to spend on yoga and fitness classes each month. But there were some Lululemon practices that were just sort of strange. I'm not even talking about the intense Lululemon fans, like the woman who quit her corporate job to work there. I'm talking about the weirdly personal things the company made their employees do. Like, Lululemon was really big on helping employees set goals and achieve them.

D (6:04)

So we would have these workshops, and in staff meetings, there would be dedicated time to goal setting where you would set your goals for like, six months a year. I wanted to be. And they helped me set all these goals around writing. And most of the people in my store were all aspiring to be on Broadway and are musical theater actors and performers. And so often their goals revolved around that. And even though it's kind of cheesy, I still, like, use a lot of those skills and the sort of rules around goal setting.

E (6:37)

For a basic retail job with a high turnover of employees, this was pretty deep, personal stuff. Too personal, I'm sure, for a lot of people. But for Cat, who is so young and so new to the city, it was actually pretty helpful.

D (6:50)

I'm a novelist now, so I am a writer now. And I guess I should probably thank the goal setting skills I learned at Lululemon for that.

E (7:01)

There are a lot of novelistic things at Lululemon, when you really think about it. Tightly wound women in tightly wound clothes, aspirational quotes on walls and merchandise bearing down on them. Merchandise that would one day be splattered in blood. When someone in one of those stores snapped,

C (7:24)

it was diabolical and horrific, she says.

E (7:28)

That was followed by screams, yelps, yells. And then as the voice faded, she

F (7:34)

said she heard a woman say, God help me.

E (7:37)

Please help me. In the case of Lulu, I think that Chip got steered the wrong way.

G (7:42)

I really appreciate it, but based on

E (7:44)

my research, I don't think it's a good fit for me at this time. And I kind of listed out all of my reasons without saying it sounds

H (7:51)

like a fucking cult.

E (7:52)

From Sony Music Entertainment and Campside Media. I'm Nathalie Robomed.

F (7:57)

And I'm Vanessa Grigoriadis. This is infamous Murder at Lululemon, episode one.

E (8:08)

Now, maybe you can tell from the title, but this story is a little more traditional true crime than we normally cover. But it's also much more than a seemingly salacious murder. It brings together so many disparate threads of what it means to be in America in the 2010s, which is the era we'll be covering. It's about womanhood, about how brands and fitness fads and fashion labels became the touch points of our lives, almost creating a moral system for us and the reasons why we break those moral systems, why we do the worst things we do as people. For this story, we also called the courthouse to get a hold of police interrogation files and court documents. It was so much stuff that they mailed a thumb drive to us, but it got returned, so we ended up sending the sister of one of our colleagues to pick it up near D.C. long story short, we eventually got our hands on a ton of files, some of which have never been published before. So you'll get to hear a lot of those insider tape recordings over the next few episodes. With that, I'll hand it over to Vanessa.

F (9:18)

We're opening this story in an upscale shopping district in Bethesda, Maryland. It's March 12, 2011. It's early morning. Not too much noise out there. The streets around the boutiques are just starting to stir. The stores aren't quite open yet. Sidewalks are just coming to life. One of the stores is an Apple store because of course it is. And it's well designed, like all Apple stores, and really, really popular. Even before it opens, there's customers there because the iPad2 has just been released. Now, this iPad had that cutting edge front facing camera which all of our tablets do that today. But back then, it was the first iPad where you could FaceTime. People were very excited about it. So many people came to buy it the day before that they were turning customers away. Right next door to Apple, there's Lululemon, everybody's favorite athleisure store. Home to those leggings that can run $100 and just make your butt look really good.

E (10:31)

The first employee, Rachel, arrives. She's wearing orange sneakers. She's the manager of this particular Lululemon, and she's arrived to open it for the day, as she's done on so many other days. But almost immediately, right when she approaches, she can tell something is wrong. Really, really wrong.

H (10:53)

What is the emergency? Hi, yes, I'm at 4856 Bethesda. I'm opening up my Lululemon store, and the door was completely open, and I hear someone moaning in the back, and it looks like it's been vandalized, and I'm just really scared to go in.

A (11:09)

So you just got there and the door was open?

E (11:11)

You hear someone in the back?

H (11:12)

Door is totally open. It's vandalized in the back. And I hear someone, but I don't. I'm, like, really scared. Okay, just wait outside.

A (11:19)

We'll be there in a sec.

H (11:20)

Okay.

E (11:22)

While Rachel is waiting for police to arrive, she walks over to the Apple store, where the iPad line is still forming. She flags down a man and asks if he can help. He agrees. According to Dan Morse's book, the Yoga Store Murder, the two of them walk into Lululemon together. Inside, everything seems normal at first. Racks of bright, neatly folded clothes, lots of inspirational sayings on the bags, and a chalkboard on the wall. Today it says, may each of us equally enjoy happiness and the root of happiness. But then he notices something. Stains on the floor. Small at first, but as he walks deeper inside, he sees more and more. It's blood, some of it pooling beneath a purple door. He pushes the door open, and what he sees inside sends him running back to the storefront, straight to where Rachel's waiting.

H (12:18)

Montgomery County 911. What is the emergency? Hi. Yes, I just called 911 to come, and there's two dead people in the back of my store. There's two people. There's a woman that's alive, and she's breathing. She's tied up. One person seems dead, and the other person is breathing. My store. The door was open this morning. I just came up to the door, and I noticed it was unlocked, which is just. It's never unlocked. If someone's tied her up, she's still breathing. And where is the other person? There was a struggle. There was a fight. The other person is in our back hallway. One is in the bathroom. I'm so sorry, ma', am, if I'm a little crazy right now. I'm the manager of this store, and I am so sc. That I'm. One of my girls is hurt. One of your girls? Yeah. I'm the manager of the store. Yes. Okay. One of your employees isn't the one that. Yeah, one of my. I'm sorry. One of my employees.

E (13:12)

That's the kind of place that Lululemon in Bethesda was a place where the manager spoke about her employees so lovingly, a place imbued with an almost religious sense of calm and purpose. And now there are two female bodies lying on the floor. The scene is utter chaos. This is a neighborhood that is not accustomed to random violent crime. Crowds begin to gather. Rumors spread. Meanwhile, at a nearby diner, State's Attorney John McCarthy, the chief prosecutor for the entire county of almost a million people, is enjoying a quiet breakfast Saturday morning.

C (13:52)

Beautiful Saturday morning.

E (13:53)

Bright sunny day his cell phone rings.

C (13:57)

The first phone call I got were questions from the Washington Post about crowds of people that were beginning to mill on Bethesda Avenue in downtown Bethesda around the Lululemon store. I very quickly learned that it was a homicide and I immediately left from where I was having breakfast and went directly to the scene of where the murder had occurred. I assigned this case to myself. They don't seem like the typical kind of people are going to find themselves in this kind of situation. This is not a neighborhood where this kind of thing happens. None of it seems to fit.

E (14:30)

But what McCarthy didn't know was that over the next few days, the investigation would take some pretty bizarre turns, making it one of the most insidious, strange and infamous crimes he witnessed in his decades long career. Sometimes I get recipe paralysis where I just end up cooking the same three meals on loop. Lately I've been stuck on enchiladas which while delicious, there's only so many nights you can eat beans and cheese in a row. Hellofresh can help you get out of a home cooking rut. You get to pick for more than 100 recipes every single week so there's no risk of getting stuck in a loop. Most recently I broke out of my comfort zone with a faster than takeout pork wonton soup. I never really think to make soup, but on a cold winter night this was perfect because when dinner tastes this good, nothing hits like home cooking. I've been cooking with hellofresh and you can too. Go to hellofresh.com scandal10fm to get 10 free meals plus a free Zwilling knife $144.99 value on your third box offer valid while supplies last. Free meals applied as discount on first box. New subscribers only varies by plan.

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F (16:27)

So before the break, we were talking about the Lululemon in Bethesda, Maryland. That's a classic inner ring suburb where you're close enough to the city for commutes, but you also have the great schools, not a of crime. It is a very educated and upscale place. There's tons of economists, lobbyists, you know, chemists, just people with a lot of education. And then meanwhile, you have in Lululemon, the place that everybody's getting their leggings for doing their athletics or just hanging out. This grizzly murder. The place is spattered with blood. This is the kind of murder you see on csi, not in Bethesda.

C (17:11)

Look, this is a place that's two doors down from the Georgetown cupcake store. I mean, people are thinking, this is where I'm going to send my kids to get a cupcake. You know, this is not happening next door to the cupcake store. It's just so out of place.

F (17:28)

But the women who were inside that Lululemon who were hurt, they very much belonged to Lululemon. In fact, they themselves were employees or educators, as they're often called there. They were selling clothes in a boutique that wasn't just really about clothes. It was also about all of that stuff you heard earlier. The goal setting, the inspirational quotes. One of them was named Jana Murray. She was 30 years old.

E (17:56)

She'd graduated from George Washington University with a degree in business and marketing and was both an outdoorsy person and someone into corporate life. As a kid, she tagged along to boy Scout campouts with her dad. She took dance lessons. She was fluent in Spanish. She was very athletic. And McCarthy told us that she'd come by her job at Lululemon in a really interesting way.

C (18:21)

The only reason she was even in that store is because she was getting her third master's degree from Johns Hopkins. And one of her professors was somewhat taken with the Lululemon corporate model and said to her, as a dissertation topic, potentially, you know, you ought to consider writing about Lululemon and their corporate model. And that's why she went there. She wrote her paper, got her master's degree, her thesis was accepted, but she became friends with the other young women that worked there. She thought they were vibrant, they were exciting, they were smart women, and she liked hanging out with them. So even when the paper was done, she didn't need the money. She did it for the camaraderie. So staying engaged with these young women was something she enjoyed.

E (19:09)

So Jaina is this go getter. She was actually about to move to the Pacific northwest to be with her boyfriend and then this horrible tragedy occurs. So what about the other victim?

F (19:21)

That's 28 year old Brittany Norwood. Her parents actually had nine kids and she was the sixth of those nine kids. They used to live outside of Seattle. They didn't have a lot of money. I mean, her dad made a living as a furniture upholsterer, which is hard when you have nine kids. But they really were hard workers. You know, a great family, did the best that they could for their kids. She grew up to be a tremendous athlete. She was a really good soccer player, Was on the varsity soccer team as a freshman and played in games like almost immediately. She was super outgoing, really pretty. She used to like put on this sort of lavender scented Johnson and Johnson baby lotion. So people thought she was beautiful. And she got a soccer scholarship, full ride to play soccer.

C (20:15)

I was also very athletic, loved to work out, like to have a good time with all, like all the other girls did. One of the things she used to do is if women came in, she would challenge some of the customers who thought they were in great shape to push up contests or, or sitting up contests because she thought she could do more push ups or sit ups than anybody because she was very strong, powerful young woman who'd been a division one athlete in college.

E (20:44)

So these two athletes, Jaina and Brittany, were the women inside the store, the women who had been brutally attacked.

A (20:57)

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This is infamous from Campside Media.

E (22:04)

Now I want to zoom out for a second and talk a little more generally about fitness and its role in our lives. Specifically the kinds of boutique fitness classes and luxury gyms that Lululemon outfits you for. The ones that got wildly popular in the 2010s like SoulCycle, CrossFit and Equinox. These expensive, cultish workouts that aren't just a way to move your body, but a lifestyle choice, a brand that can come to define your identity. I don't think it's a coincidence that Americans move away from organized religion has coincided with the rise of these sorts of identitarian fitness regimes. And there is something religious about them, I think. The dimly lit candles of soul cycle, the arduous penance of CrossFit lifting. The high ceilings and zigzag atriums of Equinox. This modernist architecture built to inspire awe and make you feel small, like you're in a cathedral. And Lululemon stores. They're one of these sacred spaces. You've probably been in one, or at the very least walked by one. They look beautiful. Spotlit tables, felt mannequins dressed in their famous stretchy yoga pants, neat little cubby holes showcasing rolled up yoga mats just ready for the taking. It's high end and deeply aspirational. A place to buy clothes that promise to make you a better person. This Lululemon store in Bethesda was no different. Behind the counter were red shopping bags with sayings on them like modern day commandments. Things like breathe deeply and appreciate the moment. Successful people replace the words Wish, should and try with I will. This environment made the gruesome scene police discovered in Lululemon all the more disturbing. Sacrilegious even. We got a hold of a video from the actual crime scene. At first the store looks normal. Everything seems to be in its right place. But then you notice a mannequin is lying on the floor. It's got black bike shorts on and a striped shirt, and there looks to be a bloody shoe print near it. Towards the back of the store, there are signs of a struggle. Another mannequin has toppled over. There are clothes and reusable water bottles littered about. And there's a black athletic bag that looks like it's been dropped on the ground. Its contents spill out. A white candle, a tube of lip balm, a pair of headphones. And in the back of the store, behind a purple Door, they find Jaina, the George Washington grad with multiple master's degrees. She's already dead. Her hair is tangled and matted. There's a big open cut on the back of her head. A rope lies underneath her neck. The back of her pants look as though they've been ripped or cut open. In the bathroom, they find Britney, the strong athlete who'd once challenged customers to push up contests. She's on the floor, but she's still alive. She's got cuts all over her face and she's moaning. She's wearing white footy socks covered in blood stains and black yoga pants that have been torn open at the crotch. Plastic zip ties bind her ankles and wrists. A gray shirt is wrapped around her neck. It's printed with the saying, set your goals. Life is too short for the treadmill. Get out and run. The beige bathroom tiles are smeared in bloodstains. In the video, you can see three white flowers strewn on the floor, their ivory petals offset by the crimson streaks outside. The bathroom is a wooden Lululemon coat hanger, a bottle of Windex, used paper towels, and a Buddha statue, one of those little ones about 10 inches tall. The Buddha has been knocked over. Britney doesn't look like she's in good shape at all. So she gets rushed to the hospital. When she's there, she's stable enough to talk. She's freaked out, but she's coherent. So an investigator sits down with her, a woman, and Brittany starts talking to her.

G (26:27)

If I could just get your name. Brittany. Brittany. Okay, Brittany. Do you have a middle name? And what's your last name? Norwood. N o R W O O D O o D. Where do you work at Lululemon. How long have you been there? Um, maybe a little over a month. Okay, working there about a month. I just transferred from our Georgetown store. What are you just. Are you a worker? Are you a manager or whatever? I'm educator. So just not a manager. Okay, so like a educator. Educator. Okay.

E (27:04)

Britney tells her what happened that day, or rather that night when she and Jayna were attacked. They had shut down the store together, which means that they closed out receipts, turned off the lights, and then right before they left, each of them checked in the other's bag to make sure there had been no sticky fingers, that no items had been shoplifted. These were called bag checks, and it was the way Lululemon closed out stores each night, no matter where in America they were.

G (27:32)

We actually left, like at about 9:45. We left the store. How do you leave the store? Um, there was a main entrant that was working, Jaina. Jaina. Do you know her last name? Murray.

F (27:46)

About a half hour after they left, Brittany called Jayna and she said she'd left her Metro pass inside the store. She needed to go home. And Jayna came back because she was the one with the key, because she's the supervisor. And the two girls met up in the store.

G (28:00)

Jay will set the alarm and leave, and that's normal. And I got to the Metro and actually realized I didn't have my wallet. So I called her and I don't know, I didn't have my wallet. And she was like. Well, I noticed I didn't have my laptop anyway, so it's fine. So I just met her back in front of the store. What, around what time? Maybe like, maybe a little after 10. If even then I don't think that we locked it behind us and she turned off the alarm and we both went to the back. Did you find your wallet?

H (28:40)

No.

G (28:41)

And we looked for like maybe 10, maybe like close to nine or 10 minutes. And I was just like, it's fine, it's late, I work tomorrow. And she gave me her smart trip. So. Okay, just like, it's fine. Like I just won't go out. Maybe this is a sorry. Right?

F (28:59)

And when they're in the back getting the metropass, that's when the attackers enter the store and let loose on the two women.

G (29:07)

And when we walked back out onto the floor, like there was. She was a little ahead of me and there was someone who they like, I think it was maybe in her face, like hit her interface. And I turned to try to like leave it ex. Like a back exit door. Yeah. Turn to try to like go out of that door. Cuz it immediately sets the alarm off anyway. Okay. And I think there was two people. Okay. And they grabbed me and then threw me on the ground. And like, I don't know, like what they hit her with. Well, the one guy, he was just like repeatedly just like hitting her. And we were both like yelling for help. So there's definitely two people. Yeah, he had me by the hair and told me if I said another word, he would slit my throat. And Jaina kept yelling and fighting and he just kept hitting her.

C (30:11)

They were followed back in by two men, both dressed all in black, one taller, one shorter. And the two girls were separated. She could hear where Jana was being attacked by one of the men. And the man that took her aside sexually assaulted her, cut up her clothing and did some physical injuries to her as she listened to Jane, as it turned out, being killed a short distance away. But she couldn't do anything. They tied up Brittany using plastic ties. Her arms were tied, her legs were tied, left on the floor.

F (30:49)

It sounds so scary, so absolutely nightmarish. And this would be the story that would lead the local news that night. The police chief would say that they had no indication at this point that this was anything but a random crime of opportunity.

E (31:06)

Next time on Infamous. It's a murder case that has stunned

F (31:10)

many here in Maryland and even grabbed national headlines. Jana Murray was laid to rest this weekend after being killed in the yoga

E (31:16)

store where she worked.

C (31:18)

The pattern on the bottom of that shoes was identical to the pattern of the shoe prints that were all over the store.

G (31:28)

It was my palm because I lost my husband. It's not couldn't help. I know this is very difficult for you. You're doing a great job. Really are.

B (31:51)

So that was the first episode of Murder at Lululemon. If you want to hear the whole four part series, you can scroll way back in your feed. It aired in February and March last year so you'll be able to find the next episode around there. Again, it's called Murder at Lululemon. Thanks so much for listening and we'll see you with our new multi part series next week.

E (32:12)

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