The Lululemon Murder & A Woman in a Trunk

Mary Scott Castle was hot, rich, and well connected. But when she met a 21-year-old Porter Charlton, she was down on her luck. She’d just gotten divorced, and she’d blown her reputation to bits by shooting a man in the lobby of the Waldorf Astoria. But when Mary and Porter locked eyes, it was love at first sight. They got married a month later, and took off for a romantic European honeymoon. There was just one problem. Porter wasn’t so stable himself.

Then Brandi tells us about a horrific attack in a Lululemon store. It was March of 2011. Coworkers Brittany Norwood and Jayna Murray had just left the Lululemon Athletica store in Bethesda, Maryland, when Brittany realized that she’d left her wallet in the store. When she called Jayna to tell her what she’d done, Jayna was accommodating. She told Brittany she’d meet her back at the store. The pain re-entered the store, leaving the door unlocked behind them. 

And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.

“Lady in the lake” by Mara Bovsun The Daily News.

“The Murder of the Beautiful and Accomplished Mrs. Edith Woodhill, 1909,” written by Thomas Duke in 1910, posted to historicalcrimedetective.com

“Charlton Must go to Italy for Trial,” The Evening Times-Republican, June 10, 1913
“May Ask Wilson to Save Slayer,” The Washington Herald , June 11, 1913

“True Detective Tales: What is Justice? Murder at Romantic Como,” by Peter Levins for the Pittsburg Sun-Telegraph, April 24, 1940

“‘On Trial’ -- Omaha Boy in Spotlight,” The Omaha Sunday Bee, October 17, 1915

“Brittany Norwood” episode Snapped

“‘The Yoga Store Murder: The Shocking True Account of the Lululemon Athletica Killing’ by Dan Morse” by Daniel Stashower, The Washington Post

“Lululemon victim was alive through most of beating” by Andrea Noble, The Washington Times

“Brittany Norwood sentenced to life without parole” by Richard Reeve, WLJA 7 News

“Maryland Lululemon Store Gives ‘Love’ Memorial to Family of Woman Killed There” NBC4 Washington

“Lululemon Murder” wikipedia.org