Police Detective Recounts Questioning Norwood's Story

A detective investigating the Lululemon homicide began doubting Brittany Norwood's story following an interview with her at her Washington, D.C. home March 14.

Norwood initially told police she and her co-worker Jayna Murray had been attacked by two masked men. Norwood stands accused of killing Murray, and prosecutors said she lied to police and elaborately staged the crime scene to make it appear as though an attack had taken place.

Her defense doesn't contend that she killed Murray, but they argue the attack wasn't pre-meditated, as prosecutors seek to prove.

Montgomery County Police detective Dimitry Ruvin, one of the detectives on the case, took the stand at Norwood's trial Monday. He described the initial phases of the investigation, during which police still considered Norwood a victim and were pursuing a different suspect -- a homeless man in Bethesda police placed near the crime scene the morning of March 11.

Norwood's story, Ruvin said, initially matched with items found at the crime scene. In addition, outdoor surveillance footage at the adjacent Apple Store captured two men dressed in black near the Lululemon store the night of the crime.

The initial suspect had entered an area hospital with bloody clothes, another piece of information that led them away from Norwood, Ruvin said. But following an interview with the man late in the evening of March 13, Ruvin said, "We believed we did not have our guy."

On March 14, Ruvin and Det. James Drewry travelled to Norwood's home to get more information from her, Ruvin testified, and to see if she had remembered anything since the night of the crime that might be helpful. It was following the interview he began to question Norwood's tale.

During the interview, Norwood about the attack, but told investigators the attackers had thrown her on Murray's body. She also said the alleged attackers knew where she lived, Ruvin said, telling detectives she thought the men might have looked in her purse and found bills.

"It was hard to watch. She was emotional. Her hands were shaking. There were tears in her eyes," Ruvin said.

Later, Ruvin began to wonder about the story. "You can find one guy who is so evil to rob a place and rape and kill somebody, to find two guys, that's rare," Ruvin told the court.

Recounting his thoughts at the time, he continued, "Either we are dealing with two crazy Columbine High School-type kids, or this is all not real."

Norwood's story resembled a "movie," Ruvin said. He wondered why attackers would kill Murray and be so "cool, calm and collected they stayed in the store to mentally torture Brittany" by throwing her on Murray's body.

Norwood's defense team sought to prove that Norwood was a suspect earlier in the investigation.

The Lululemon trial is expected to continue in Rockville Tuesday, where the prosecution is expected to call four more witnesses, among them Drewry.

Visit our for more information on how the story unfolded from the March 11 crime, andfollow Bethesda Patch on Twitter for live updates from the courthouse.