LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Several showgirls injured in the mass stabbing on the Las Vegas Strip are sharing what they remember from the attack.
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Anna Westby, one of the showgirls stabbed by Yoni Barrios on Thursday morning, recalls seeing Barrios approach the group with a black bag.
“He went into his bag, pulled out a cloth, and then unfolded that cloth… and it was a knife,” Westby said. “He grabbed the knife… and stabbed Maris in the heart. Then Victoria ran and he chased [her] and stabbed her in the back.”
Westby said she tried to run away as well, but the suspect caught up to her and stabbed her as well before fleeing.
Another showgirl, Victoria Cayetano, was also stabbed after attempting to call for help when she saw the knife.
She recalls: “I got up and I started yelling, ‘He has a knife! He has a knife!’”
She then ran inside the Wynn for help, where she realized she was wounded. “That’s when I realized, I could really die.”
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Their friend and fellow performer, Maris DiGiovanni was identified as one of the victims on XX, after being stabbed in the chest by Barrios.
Westby says, even after being stabbed herself, she was focused on trying to help save DiGiovanni. “I laid my head on Maris' chest and I noticed she stopped breathing.”
Unfortunately, DiGiovanni was pronounced deceased shortly after being transported to UMC Trauma.
Both Westby and Cayetano are recovering from their wounds and various internal complications caused by being stabbed. Westby says she’s suffering from a pierced lung after being stabbed in the back.
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An arrest report released on Friday revealed that the suspect told police he believed the group of women were “laughing at him.” Cheryl Lowthorp, who runs and operates the network Best Showgirls in Vegas which employed several of the victims, says that's not true.
Lowthorp says this incident has created a delicate situation, in which the girls involved may not be able to return to work. However, Lowthorp doesn’t want to give the suspect the power to ruin their lives.
“But somebody who stabs eight total strangers unprovoked is not somebody you can justifiably seek revenge against,” Lowthorp says.
For now, the victims are unsure how to move on.
To help with funeral costs, medical bills, and other financial recovery efforts, Lowthorp has organized a GoFundMe to help the victims get back on their feet however they can.
