'I just ran so fast': Stabbed Vegas showgirl reveals moment Yoni Barrios asked for photo before deadly attack
Warning: This article contains a recollection of violent crime and can be triggering to some readers. Discretion advised.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: One of the showgirls who was stabbed on the Las Vegas Strip, claimed that attacker Yoni Barros, 32, asked for a picture with her and the rest of her group holding a knife before he went on a vicious stabbing spree, Daily Mail reports. It was Victoria Cayetano's ninth day at work as a showgirl when the illegal immigrant attacked Maris Digiovanni, 30, Anna Westby, 25, and another woman named Selina.
Cayetano, 19, explained how the group found Barrios' request odd and claimed the Guatemalan alleged illegal immigrant spoke only to request a photo and revealed that he worked as a chef. As soon as Barrios pulled his knife out of his bag and stabbed Digiovanni, who later died from her injuries, he went on a rampage.
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'Barrios wanted a photo with knife'
Speaking to Daily Mail, Cayetano, 19, stated, "When he [Barrios] approached us, he asked us for a picture. He came from Maris' side and when he put his bag on the sidewalk – he put it down because he wanted to take a picture. He said two things that he wanted to take a picture and he was a chef. I asked him where he was traveling from and he didn’t say anything. He just looked at us and I honestly thought he probably didn’t know how to speak English, not in full sentences. We don’t judge people and if someone wants to take a picture with us, that was it."
The showgirl said the group felt odd when Barrios wanted a photo with a knife. She added, "When he took the knife out, he specifically said he wanted to take a picture with his knife and we all looked at each other, thinking weird. I specifically remember Maris looking at Anna and Selina and smiling like, that’s odd, but we never really say no to people because it’s our job to take pictures." She added, "Then when he took out the knife, he unfolded it once, I looked at it and he just grabbed the knife and jerked it towards Maris."
'I knew he was coming at me'
Cayetano described how she escaped the deadly attack after being struck by heading to the Wynn Hotel instead of with the other girls. She felt a blow to her back that was strong enough to knock her forward and onto her knees, and it was then that she realized she had been stabbed. The showgirl said, "I just panicked when he moved with the knife because it didn’t look safe. When he started moving with the knife, I ran. It happened so fast that when he charged at Maris, I didn’t see it happen but I knew he was coming at me."
The 19-year-old claimed that she began to run but was unable to move quickly because of her heels. She thinks she felt the force of the fall when he grabbed her, causing scraps and bruises to her right knee, right shoulder, and left knee.
'I just saw red and thought run'
Cayetano further explained, "If I hadn’t fallen, the knife would have gone much deeper on my back. When I fell, I didn’t feel that he stabbed me, I just felt a force hit me." She continued, "When I fell, I saw the girls running the other way. I just saw red and thought run – I couldn’t tell who was where. I just ran so fast and I was yelling, 'He has a knife!'"
According to a police arrest report released on October 7, Friday, Barrios told the detectives that he is a Guatemalan immigrant and that he went on a stabbing spree so he could "let the anger out."