A 28-year-old Tarzana woman was found guilty Thursday of throwing gasoline on a nightclub dancer and setting her on fire.
A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury found Rianne Celine Theriault-Odom guilty of aggravated mayhem and torture and acquitted her on a charge of attempted murder. She faces a life sentence in prison with the possibility of parole.
She is scheduled to be sentenced March 4.
Theriault-Odom was arguing with Roberta Dos Santos Busby early on a morning in February 2009 outside the Babes & Beer nightclub, where Busby worked as a dancer. Theriault-Odom threw a soda bottle filled with gasoline at Busby then set her on fire, prosecutors said.
“We think this is an excellent verdict,” said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office. “The victim was badly burned. She still has severe scars over her entire body a year later.”
— Amina Khan
Photo of Busby KTLA News