'Possessed by a demon': Dancer at vegan strip club in Portland allegedly caught on camera stabbing DJ

Police said a dancer at a vegan strip club in Portland stabbed a man working as a DJ in the club earlier this month. The alleged stabbing attack reportedly was caught on security cameras.

On the night of Dec. 8, a dancer at the Casa Diablo Vegan Strip Club allegedly attacked Duncan Allen from behind with a knife. Allen has been a DJ at the Portland club for over a decade.

'I was fading in and out of like consciousness because of my blood loss and oxygen loss. So everything around me was getting blurry, everything was getting white.'

Police identified 29-year-old Peyton Lathan as the alleged assailant.

Surveillance video reportedly shows Lathan sneaking up behind Allen and violently stabbing him multiple times.

Allen told KPTV-TV, "I was on my computer getting some songs ready, and next thing I knew I felt like a 500-pound man punch me in the back as hard as humanly possible. So I turned around expecting there to be a huge dude about to fight me, and it was her [the dancer], and she was standing there holding a knife."

Allen said female employees at the club saved his life.

"Half the girls were obviously shook and started freaking out — but the other half of the girls were instrumental to my survival," Allen told KGW-TV. "I was fading in and out of like consciousness because of my blood loss and oxygen loss. So everything around me was getting blurry, everything was getting white."

The Oregonian reported that police found Lathan "hiding in the bushes" near the strip club. Police found two knives near Lathan — and one had "a red stain on the tip," according to the arrest affidavit.

"During her arrest, Lathan continually said she is 'pleading insanity,'" the court document stated.

Lathan was taken into custody without incident, police said.

Allen said an ambulance arrived six minutes after the stabbing. He asserted that if the ambulance had arrived a few minutes later, he would have died from blood flowing into his lung.

'I need to get out of the hospital. My feet need to touch the grass, and I need to stare into the sky for about 30 minutes and just close my eyes and hold my dog and just kind of just be thankful that I’m alive.'

Allen suffered a collapsed lung and required surgery at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.

"I still didn’t know I was stabbed at that point. Then I took a breath in and realized my left lung had collapsed," Allen explained.

Allen was stabbed twice in the back and once under his left armpit.

The owner of the club, Johnny Diablo Žūklė, said he was shocked by the violent attack because Lathan had worked on and off at the strip club for roughly 10 years.

“She was always a little off, but she never exhibited signs of violent tendencies,” Žūklė said. “She definitely had a mental health crisis. I think she had intended to kill someone, and it just happened to be Duncan, and when I think about it, when she was in the dressing room for about 10 minutes, she seemed like she was possessed by a demon.”

Lathan was booked at Multnomah County Detention Center. She was charged with two counts of felony assault and one count of unlawful use of a weapon.

Allen added, "She could’ve cracked my ribs. She could have stabbed me in the kidney. She could have stabbed me in the neck. She could have stabbed me in the spine. If I have to be honest with you, I think she should get charged the highest, because the fact is, this was premeditated."

According to court records, Lathan pleaded guilty to criminal mischief for destroying property last summer. As part of her probation, Lathan was ordered to complete a mental health evaluation and pay over $1,000 in restitution.

A GoFundMe was launched to help pay for Allen's medical bills. The crowdfunding campaign has raised more than $9,000.

When asked if he plans to return to work, Allen said, "I need to get out of the hospital. My feet need to touch the grass, and I need to stare into the sky for about 30 minutes and just close my eyes and hold my dog and just kind of just be thankful that I’m alive.”

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