This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Burn a Bikini Bar Babe, Spend Rest of Your Life Behind Bars
It was no dice today for Rianne Theriault-Odom, the woman who set an exotic dancer on fire outside a Tarzana bikini bar in 2009, who lost her appeal on her conviction, according to the Daily News. Theriault-Odom received a life sentence for dousing then-27-year-old Roberta Busby in gasoline and setting her on fire after an argument.Theriault-Odom had tried to use her intoxication at the time of the altercation to explain her actions, however a three-justice panel from California's 2nd District Court of Appeal did not believe that the jury had been in error when using that testimony as basis for conviction.
Busby spent five months in the hospital after the attack, and underwent 30 surgeries. Her injuries were described as "severe" and "disfiguring."