Anna Westby spoke to Inside Edition from the hospital where she’s recovering from a punctured lung after being stabbed. A GoFundMe has been set up to benefit the survivors of the attack.
A showgirl who survived a deadly stabbing spree on the Las Vegas Strip last week says she witnessed the killing of fellow showgirl Maris DiGiovanni, who died after being stabbed in the heart.
Anna Westby, 26, says she was stabbed in the back during the unprovoked rampage. She spoke to Inside Edition from the hospital bed where she’s recovering from a punctured lung.
“[The suspect] said that he was a new chef, that he had created this new brand of knives with his chef business and he had asked them to take a photo with his logo. And I gave [Maris] that look of like, ‘Is this too much?’ And as soon as I looked at her and we exchanged that look, for a moment, did not say anything, he grabbed the knife and stabbed Maris directly in the heart,” Westby said.
Westby and DiGiovanni, a former teacher, earned extra income dressing up as showgirls and posing for photos with tourists.
“I laid my head on the cloth on the wound on her chest. But when I laid down, it was when I realized that she was gone. She wasn’t breathing,” Westby said.
Just two days before the attack, accused killer Yoni Barrios stepped before a Telemundo camera crew asking for assistance because he had lost everything.
Victoria Cayetano, another showgirl, was also stabbed during the rampage.
“He just took out his knife and he just attacked us,” Cayetano said.
Both showgirls work for Cheryl Lowthrop, who owns BSV Models.
“He’s stabbing total strangers and taking beautiful lives,” Lowthrop said.
The suspect remains in jail without bond.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the survivors.
