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The GW Hatchet

AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Alumna’s killer sentenced to life in jail without parole

A Montgomery County court sentenced Brittany Norwood to life in jail without parole Friday for the March 2011 murder of alumna Jayna Murray at a Lululemon Athletica store in Bethesda, Md.

“You’re one hell of a liar, ma’am,” the judge told Norwood before reading her sentence, according to WTOP.

The 29-year-old was arrested in late March for first degree murder, after police suspected she beat and stabbed Murray when they found holes in Norwood’s accounts of the night Murray died. Norwood lied to investigators who found her and Murray at the back of the yoga shop March 12, saying two men sexually assaulted them. Police later determined Norwood was not assaulted.

A jury found Norwood guilty in November, after prosecutors chronicled the attacks on the 30-year-old alumna during a six-day trial. A medical examiner said Murray suffered more than 300 different wounds.

“Norwood’s steadfast lies — ‘coupled with her lack of remorse’ — speak to the ‘tremendous danger’ Norwood would pose if released,” Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said in a sentencing memo, according to The Washington Post.

This post was updated January 27, 2012 to reflect the following:

The Hatchet incorrectly stated that Norwood suffered more than 300 different wounds. In fact, Murray suffered more than 300 different wounds.

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