Tarzana- The two people suspected of torching a bikini dancer outside a Tarzana nightclub were arrested Monday afternoon by local and federal law enforcement officers after an intensive five-day manhunt.
Rianne Celine Theriault-Odom, 27, of North Hollywood and Nathaniel Marquis Petrillo, 22, of Reseda were arrested at a San Fernando Valley hotel in a joint operation between Los Angeles police and the U.S. Marshal's Service.
"Thank God, they caught them," said Daisy Busby, mother of 27-year-old Roberta Abdue Dos Santos Busby, the dancer who police say was set on fire by the two suspects.
"They need to pay for what they did."
The mother and other relatives and friends have been holding a round-the-clock vigil at the Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital, where Busby on Monday underwent the first of a series of skin-graft operations. She remains in critical condition with burns over 40 percent of her body.
Police say Busby, a Brazilian-born mother of two, was doused with gasoline and set on fire by the two suspects about 1:30 a.m. Thursday outside the front door of the Babes N' Beer Sports Bar.
"This is a horrific crime that was nearly fatal to the victim, who is barely clinging to life," said LAPD Sgt. Ronnie Crump. "We exhausted all resources in a combined joint effort and we have the suspects behind bars."
LAPD Deputy Chief Michel Moore, the head of the Valley Bureau, added: "I have nothing but praise for robbery-homicide (detectives) for their persistence in pursuing these suspects and taking them into custody."
Police did not disclose whether they have established a motive for the attack.
Both Theriault-Odom and Petrillo had prior convictions, according to court records. Petrillo was convicted of drug possession in August 2008 and March 2007. He was also found guilty of credit card fraud in December 2006. Odom was convicted of burglary in November 2005.
Petrillo had just been released from jail, having served a fraction of his one-year term for methamphetamine possession. He had been sentenced to 365 days in jail Sept. 15.
Neither court records nor officials could explain his early release.
The suspects have been described as Valley residents and frequent patrons of the bikini bar who had been in the club earlier that night.
