Update [LA Times] LAPD Deputy Chief Michel Moore just held a news conference and said the dancer at a Tarzana nightclub who was doused with flammable liquid and set on fire knew her attackers and that she suffered burns over 60% of her body. Police said she is 27 years old and has two young children.
"This was a terrible attack," Moore said, adding that there were "a number of witnesses" to the incident.
"The suspects had been identified by witnesses’ accounts -- by people that were at the tavern here," said Moore, standing outside the Babes & Beer nightclub on Oxnard Street. "At this point, when we find them, they will be arrested for this terrible crime. Given the condition of this victim they may be responsible for ultimately her murder."
The suspects were identified as Rianne Celine Theriault-Odom, 27, and Nathaniel Marquis Petrillo, 22. They allegedly doused the dancer with an accelerant, possibly gasoline, and fled in a gold, four-door sedan, Moore said. Police believe Theriault-Odom was known to people at the club and may have previously worked there.
The dancer was counting tips around 1:30 a.m. before she walked outside the nightclub to talk with Theriault-Odom and Petrillo, officials said. When she was attacked, she ran back inside, where people ripped down drapes to try to snuff out the flames.
"She was in flames and in distress," said LAPD spokesman Lt. John Romero.
The woman was taken to a hospital and reported in critical condition.
Fox News, back story: Tarzana- Police in Los Angeles are searching for a man and a woman who they say set an exotic nightclub dancer on fire, leaving her clinging to life.
The woman was meeting the two acquaintances about at 1:30 a.m outside the Babes & Beer nightclub in the Tarzana area of the San Fernando Valley when they doused her with some type of flammable liquid and set her on fire, police said. She then ran back inside the bar where other patrons came to her aid.
The attackers, Rianne Celine [pictured] Theriault-Odom, 27, and Nathaniel Marquis Petrillo, 22, were frequent patrons of the club and positively identified by witnesses, police spokesman Richard French said.
Deputy Police Chief Michael Moore said the dancer is in grave condition.
"Given the condition of this victim, they may be responsible for ultimately her murder," Moore said at a news conference Thursday. "This is a terrible, terrible attack."
The victim is a 27-year-old mother of two young children, Moore said.
The nightclub's Web site advertises "intimate dining" and "seductive nightlife." A message left on the club's answering machine was not immediately returned.
