Murder at Lululemon in Bethesda

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A video of the woman who died:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y01gDFp9Z4g

wow what a great video it really says something about a person that when you watch a video of a stranger and it brings tears to your eyes that that person really is special.

[Anonymous]

People, try to keep your eye on the ball here. Two young women were victims of a crime. One was murdered and the other one seriously injured. No matter what their motives, the perpetrators of this crime need to be punished for what they chose to do. Stop pretending you are on CSI or Law and Order and speculating what may or may not have happened. There are friends and family mourning what happened to these women and I am fairly sure that when they woke up on Friday morning, they could have never imagined how their day would end. May the murdered woman rest in peace. May her family and friends mourn her loss and try to move forward. May the woman in the hospital heal and hopefully find a way to move on in her life. These are real people, so stop the speculation.

[Anonymous]

22:36 is exactly right on a possible scenario that certainly does 'add up'. All the stores in this stretch of Bethesda Avenue (inlcuding Lululemon) have back doors that back up to a parking lot. When I heard about this tragic crime, my assumption was that the women re-entered through the back door in the parking lot and left the door unlocked. It's a well lit parking lot and does not appear sketchy in terms of safety, so would have a very reasonable thing for them to do. The two men could have easily entered through that door without anyone seeing them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:22:36 is exactly right on a possible scenario that certainly does 'add up'. All the stores in this stretch of Bethesda Avenue (inlcuding Lululemon) have back doors that back up to a parking lot. When I heard about this tragic crime, my assumption was that the women re-entered through the back door in the parking lot and left the door unlocked. It's a well lit parking lot and does not appear sketchy in terms of safety, so would have a very reasonable thing for them to do. The two men could have easily entered through that door without anyone seeing them.

Even the parking lot is always full of people. It could have happened either way and all of the speculation amounts to the same thing. It's not disrespectful to the victims. It's a natural reaction to try to explain the unthinkable.

[Anonymous]

I've read a lot about the case and here is some compiled information...if you are bothered by the speculation and wannabe crimesleuthing nature of this post, then stop reading now!

The two victims: Janya Murray (Age 30, decased, homicide but manner of death unknown) and Jane Doe (Age 27, sexually assaulted, hospitalized but thought to be released soon)

What happened (as gathered from various news sources):
The store closed at 9pm.

One would assume that it took a few minutes for the two ladies to wrap up and lock up. They departed. Jane Doe called Jayna at some point after they left the store, presumably not long after, and told her that she left something in the store and needed to get back in. Apparantly Jane Doe did not have keys and Jayna did, as she was the keyholder.

The women went back to the store and possibly left the front door unlocked. They both went to the back room and presumably retrieved the forgotten item. They were walking back to the front door when they were accosted by the two men in masks and gloves.

It is unknown how long the altercation lasted and how long the women were in the store with the men or when the men departed.

At around 8am the next morning, an employee arrived to open the store and saw items in disarray. She heard noises coming from the back room, went out to the street and asked a passerby to check the back. A man did this and came back out to call the police after he saw Jayna murdered and Jane Doe tied to a chair. There was said to be a lot of blood.

A few other points:
-There was no video surveillance in the store. Police are currently canvassing to find video surveillance from nearby businesses.
-The lululemon store is adjacent or quite close to an Apple Store. There have been recent robberies of consumers who had purchased big-ticket items at Apple Stores and then were followed as they left and then robbed. There has been some speculation that the men originally had intended to target the Apple Store, where there were a lot of customers due to the Ipad2 release.
-Police have said that the crime started as a robbery and then turned into sexual assault, battery and murder. It has not been clarified whether Jayna was sexually assaulted, though Jane Doe definitely was.
-There will be a press conference at 3pm today to give more details. It has been suggested that Lululemon will be offering a cash reward of 100k for clues leading to the apprehension of the suspects. Other companies may join in donating.

Outstanding questions:
-Was this just extraordinarily bad luck or is there something more to this? Who were the men targeting and did they just happen upon the store as the two women came back and reopened it to retrieve their lost item?
-How did this happen in a small store with glass windows? How were the men able to get the women into a back room without anyone noticing the altercation, given that Bethesda on a Friday night is pretty busy at that time?

News stories/videos
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Police-To-Update-Bethesda-117939349.html
http://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/2011/03/13/alumna-murdered-in-bethesda-athletics-store/?hp
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/crime-scene/post/reward-offered-in-bethesda-killing/2011/03/14/ABH76LV_blog.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/13/AR2011031304025.html

Jaynas links:
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/jtmurray17
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jtmurray17
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jayna
Facebook: (was made private or deleted in the hours after the news became public)

Lululemon links:
Official statement: http://www.lululemon.com/community/blog/our-hearts-go-out-to-bethesda/
Stores facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lululemonBethesda


And in response to those who surely will complain about this post: this happened in our community. It happened just a few minutes from where I live. We all have a right to be thinking about what happened and how it happened and why it happened because it could have been any of us.

[Anonymous]

I could not have written the above better! Thanks for your thoughts!

[Anonymous]

I heard on the radio today that there were no surveillance cameras inside that store. Lululemon really dropped the ball there. How can a national chain that employs mostly women not put video cameras inside their stores???

[Anonymous]

As a constituent in the area, I received an email from my Montgomery County coucil member Roger Berliner concerning the police investigation into this crime:

Dear District 1 Residents and Friends,

I regret the tragic nature of this message, but I am relaying this weekend's press release from the Montgomery County Police Department regarding a murder in Bethesda. I know that you join me in extending our heartfelt sympathies to all those touched by this tragedy and hope for a speedy recovery for the surviving young woman. Meanwhile my staff and I continue to stay in close contact with the police regarding this horrendous crime.

Sincerely,

Roger Berliner
District 1


Police Investigate the Murder of a Female Clothing Store
Employee and the Sexual Assault of Her Co-Worker

Detectives from the Montgomery County Police Major Crimes Division - Homicide/Sex Section are investigating the murder of a female store employee and the sexual assault of her female co-worker that occurred last night in a woman's athletic clothing store in Bethesda.

This morning at approximately 8:00 a.m., a female employee arrived at the "lululemon athletica" clothing store located at 4856 Bethesda Avenue. She found the front door unlocked and when she stepped inside could tell that items in the store had been disturbed. She also heard some faint noise coming from the back of the store. Realizing that something was wrong, she left the store to seek help and call police.

At approximately 8:12 a.m., 2nd District police responded to the store for the report of a burglary. Officers found a 30-year-old female store employee dead inside at the back of the store. They also found another store employee, a 27-year-old female, bound and injured, but still alive. She was transported to an area hospital for treatment.

Through the course of the investigation it was learned that the two victims had closed the store at 9:00 p.m. and left a short time later. One of the victims realized that she had left something inside the store and did not have the means to get back inside. She phoned her co-worker and asked if the co-worker would come back to the store to let her in. The co-worker agreed. They unlocked the store and entered.
It is believed that shortly thereafter two men, dressed all in black with faces and hands covered, entered the store. A robbery of commercial proceeds occurred, one victim was murdered, and the other victim was sexually assaulted. It is not known if any other property was taken from the store.

Because the suspects wore masks and gloves, the race of the suspects is not known. One suspect is described as being 6' tall, the other a little over 5'3" tall. No further description is currently available.

The body of the murder victim will be transported to the Medical Examiner's Office in Baltimore for an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

Anyone who has information about this homicide and sexual assault is asked to call the Homicide/Sex Section at 240-773-5070. Those who wish to remain anonymous may call Crime Solvers of Montgomery County toll-free at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477) or 240-773-TIPS (8477). Crime Solvers is offering a cash reward of up to $1,000 for information provided to them that leads to the arrest and/or indictment of the persons responsible for these felony crimes. Anonymous tips can also be provided by typing "MCPD" plus the tip on a cell phone or PDA and texting it to 274637 (CRIMES).

[Anonymous]

I still wonder why the 100+ murders that happen in the district every year don't generate this much conversation.

[Anonymous]

They do generate conversation: http://homicidewatch.org/

Obviously most of those murders happen in NE and SE in places many DCUMs never go. A mysterious murder that takes place in a bustling neighborhood in a store where many of us frequent - obviously it is going to generate more talk on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I still wonder why the 100+ murders that happen in the district every year don't generate this much conversation.

Really? You REALLY wonder that? You can't figure out that there are certain crimes that hit home to the population of people who read and post on DCUM? Many of whom shop at Lululemon, work or live or eat or shop in Bethesda? A random crime, where the woman who was murdered was "just like us" in so many ways?

Every single murder is sad. And every single one hits home for some people. It shouldn't be shocking that this crime has generated so much discussion here. No one wants to think that they're vulnerable to this sort of horrible crime, and yet an incident like this makes us realize that of course we aren't nearly as safe as we would like to think.

[Anonymous]

11:41- the parking lot I'm talking about is not the public garage (which is always full of people). I'm talking about the small private lot behind Bethesda Row. I park there fairly often and rarely see more than a couple of people there at most. Maybe other times of the day it's more crowded, but I doubt there are nearly as many people as would be on the street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a constituent in the area, I received an email from my Montgomery County coucil member Roger Berliner concerning the police investigation into this crime:

Dear District 1 Residents and Friends,

I regret the tragic nature of this message, but I am relaying this weekend's press release from the Montgomery County Police Department regarding a murder in Bethesda. I know that you join me in extending our heartfelt sympathies to all those touched by this tragedy and hope for a speedy recovery for the surviving young woman. Meanwhile my staff and I continue to stay in close contact with the police regarding this horrendous crime.

Sincerely,

Roger Berliner
District 1


Police Investigate the Murder of a Female Clothing Store
Employee and the Sexual Assault of Her Co-Worker

Detectives from the Montgomery County Police Major Crimes Division - Homicide/Sex Section are investigating the murder of a female store employee and the sexual assault of her female co-worker that occurred last night in a woman's athletic clothing store in Bethesda.

This morning at approximately 8:00 a.m., a female employee arrived at the "lululemon athletica" clothing store located at 4856 Bethesda Avenue. She found the front door unlocked and when she stepped inside could tell that items in the store had been disturbed. She also heard some faint noise coming from the back of the store. Realizing that something was wrong, she left the store to seek help and call police.

At approximately 8:12 a.m., 2nd District police responded to the store for the report of a burglary. Officers found a 30-year-old female store employee dead inside at the back of the store. They also found another store employee, a 27-year-old female, bound and injured, but still alive. She was transported to an area hospital for treatment.

Through the course of the investigation it was learned that the two victims had closed the store at 9:00 p.m. and left a short time later. One of the victims realized that she had left something inside the store and did not have the means to get back inside. She phoned her co-worker and asked if the co-worker would come back to the store to let her in. The co-worker agreed. They unlocked the store and entered.
It is believed that shortly thereafter two men, dressed all in black with faces and hands covered, entered the store. A robbery of commercial proceeds occurred, one victim was murdered, and the other victim was sexually assaulted. It is not known if any other property was taken from the store.

Because the suspects wore masks and gloves, the race of the suspects is not known. One suspect is described as being 6' tall, the other a little over 5'3" tall. No further description is currently available.

The body of the murder victim will be transported to the Medical Examiner's Office in Baltimore for an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

Anyone who has information about this homicide and sexual assault is asked to call the Homicide/Sex Section at 240-773-5070. Those who wish to remain anonymous may call Crime Solvers of Montgomery County toll-free at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477) or 240-773-TIPS (8477). Crime Solvers is offering a cash reward of up to $1,000 for information provided to them that leads to the arrest and/or indictment of the persons responsible for these felony crimes. Anonymous tips can also be provided by typing "MCPD" plus the tip on a cell phone or PDA and texting it to 274637 (CRIMES).

Roger Berliner is a tool, he should let the police do their work and he should worry aobut how they can tax us more. He is using this as a way to get his name out there more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:11:41- the parking lot I'm talking about is not the public garage (which is always full of people). I'm talking about the small private lot behind Bethesda Row. I park there fairly often and rarely see more than a couple of people there at most. Maybe other times of the day it's more crowded, but I doubt there are nearly as many people as would be on the street.

On a friday night this lot would be packed and the lot attendant would still be there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly I think the woman in the hospital was involved with the two suspects. The story does not add up...the fact that one forgot something and the other had to home back and the two men were there does not make sense. They have not given any details on the survivor and I think it is because she is a suspect. I also think that if the suspects murdered one employee why not the other... Does nit make sense. Who knows to throw off the cops the one females boyfriend could have beat her up and we do not know what the sexual assault entails bit when ppl are desperate they do anything. Its terrible but true! in any case a terrible situation

YOU ARE AN ***HOLE FOR WONDERING THIS ON A PUBLIC INTERNET BOARD.

It is a valid thought to be considered....no need for calling this person names.