Brittany NorwoodYesterday, a Montgomery County judge denied a request made by attorneys representing Brittany Norwood, the woman on trial for the brutal murder of Jayna Murray inside the Bethesda Lululemon. Norwood’s counsel had asked for a delay in proceedings in order to confirm that Norwood’s mental state led to the crime.
But while Judge Robert A. Greenberg’s ruling is an important development in the case — the defense will now have to enter a plea by September 12 — this editor was more interested in the basis for the mental defect Norwood’s attorneys are considering using in her defense:
“We need more record gathering,” attorney Harry Trainor Jr. said. “We need all of her classes and educational records. We need employment records, and we need to collaborate interviews with people she played sports with. This is a person who played soccer at a very high level, and that involves impacts to the head. We have to look at history of concussions.”
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Montgomery County State’s Attorney John J. McCarthy argued Tuesday against the defense team’s request for postponing the trial’s start from Oct. 24 until at least February, saying he doubted Ms. Norwood “took too many headers” and now there are psychiatric issues.
Now, concussions on the pitch can definitely present serious health concerns — just ask D.C. United — and researchers have found that such injuries suffered at the collegiate level “may have potential for long-term neuropsychologic changes.” But whether a jury will believe that a few too many headers could lead Norwood to sever Murray’s spinal cord, concoct an alibi which involved her claiming she was assaulted by masked men and then lie to authorities for days — well, that will be a very interesting thing to watch.
