Roberta Busby's daughter Gabriella turned 5 recently. But the 27-year-old single mother of two couldn't join the family celebration.
Busby remained secluded in an intensive care ward at the Grossman Burn Center in Sherman Oaks, recovering from second- and third-degree burns over 40% of her body. Nearly three weeks ago, she was set ablaze in what police say was a vicious attack at a Tarzana club where Busby worked as an exotic dancer.
She's undergone several painful skin grafts and faces still more.
Her wounds extend from her waist to her face and are so severe that she can barely talk, her brother Rodrigo Busby said. Doctors say she is stable but needs to remain in the hospital for at least several more weeks, leaving relatives to take turns caring for her two daughters, Gabriella and 8-year-old Marissa.
Police say Roberta Busby had a heated argument with Rianne Theriault-Odom, 29, on Feb. 5 at Babes N' Beer, a funky bikini-dancing and sports bar near the gritty intersection of Reseda Boulevard and Oxnard Street.
Theriault-Odom then allegedly doused Busby with gasoline from a soda bottle and set her on fire, police said. A district attorney spokeswoman said that Theriault-Odom and Busby didn't know each other and that the motive for the attack is unclear.
Rodrigo Busby can't understand why someone would want to disfigure his sister.
"I don't care who you are and what you have to do to make a living," said Rodrigo Busby, who recently spent a day cleaning out his sister's Simi Valley apartment. "What happened to her is just unfair, cruel and unreasonable."
Theriault-Odom, a Tarzana resident, pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder, mayhem and torture and is being held on $1-million bail, authorities said. Nathaniel Petrillo, 22, who was arrested with Theriault-Odom, was released after authorities found insufficient evidence to prove he participated in the attack.
Friends say they're confident Roberta Busby will pull through. Candy Douglas, who's known her for two decades, described her as "vibrant, beautiful, loud and strong."
"She laughs at herself more than anyone else," Douglas said. "Dancing was just a way to get money. It was a way to put food on the table and to give her daughters a little extra."
Her brother said she could be generous, especially with her daughters. For Gabriella's fourth birthday, she hired a limousine to pick up friends and families and rented a children's entertainment facility for the day.
