A woman who had just moved to Los Angeles to start a new life, but was cruelly raped while walking through the canals of Venice Beach, has died after remaining in a coma for almost two months.
Sarah Alden, 53, was declared brain dead earlier this week after being attacked on April 6 while walking along the banks of Southern California’s famous canals.
Alden, who was a mother of two, was subjected to the most horrific attack which left her brutally raped and assaulted hours after moving into her flat to start a new life.
She wasn’t the only woman attacked that night: Mary Klein, 54, was the attacker’s second victim.
Sarah Alden, 53, was brutally assaulted in Venice and taken off life support after two months.
Alden was a mother and had just moved to Venice Beach, California, fulfilling a lifelong dream.
She was also sexually assaulted and left with serious injuries to her body and face, believing she was about to be murdered.
The suspect, believed to be a homeless man, Anthony Francisco Jones, 29, was arrested by police on April 11 for the assaults. Police confirmed both attacks had a “sexual element.”
“The level of brutality that was committed was very reprehensible,” said Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.
Jones was seen on surveillance footage carrying a bottle of liquor while walking near the canals.
The bottle he was carrying is also believed to have been used in the attack, which occurred just as Alden was moving from Massachusetts to California to start a new life.
Police say Anthony Francisco Jones, 29, was seen on surveillance video stalking the area where both attacks took place.
Police arrested Jones, who is homeless, on April 11 after he allegedly attacked Klein and Alden within an hour of each other.
The day before the attack, he had signed the lease on an apartment in Venice and was planning to surprise his friends at brunch the next day, when the brutal assault suddenly disrupted those plans in an attack that would ultimately take his life.
After the attack, she was left for dead and remained in a coma until the end of her life after suffering several brain injuries.
She was surrounded by friends and family at the hospital when doctors finally took her off life support. Her organs will be donated to help save the lives of other people.
‘She was a lover of east coast sunrises and west coast sunsets. “Sarah adored her two children, her animals and was blessed with a refined eye for vintage jewelry,” reads a tribute to Alden.
The day before the attack, Sarah Alden had signed the lease on an apartment in Venice Beach and planned to surprise her friends the next day.
Alden was surrounded by friends and family at the hospital when doctors finally took her off life support. Her organs will be donated to help save the lives of other people.
Alden had moved to Los Angeles from Massachusetts and planned to start a new life there.
Her children are said to take comfort in knowing that their mother’s organs will be used to help save the lives of others.
Jones has been charged with forcible rape, torture, attempted murder, mayhem, sexual penetration by use of force and sodomy by use of force.
“Our hearts and deepest condolences go out to the victim’s family and friends during this unimaginably difficult time,” the district attorney’s office said. “Our office is evaluating how we will proceed to ensure that the defendant is held fully accountable for his conduct.”
“It’s very sudden and shocking,” Alden’s friend Cynthia King told KTLA. ‘She was extremely intelligent, well-educated and resourceful. They stole it from us. I feel like I’m in an alternate reality. This isn’t even real.
TO GoFundMe to help Alden’s family with medical and funeral expenses has raised $24,000 so far.
A second woman, Mary Klein, 54, was also brutally attacked on April 6 while walking near her home, leaving her with a broken jaw, missing teeth and extensive bruising on her face.
Klein was a caregiver for an elderly woman with ALS and a future grandmother.
Klein, 54, the second woman to be attacked, says she barely remembers the brutal assault that left her with a broken jaw, missing teeth and extensive bruising on her face and chest.
“It was like being hit by a truck,” she said. KTLA. ‘My teeth fell out. My jaw is wired shut. She hit me in the face… I think she was trying to kill me.
Klein, a single mother, said she was hit out of the blue while walking home around 10:30 p.m.
“Suddenly, I was unconscious,” he said from his hospital bed.
She said she thought her attacker was “trying to kill her” as they beat her mercilessly in the head and torso.
His injuries include a broken jaw, broken teeth, multiple bruises and a large cut on the back of his head.
Klein (seen before the attack left) suffered extensive injuries, resulting in her jaw being wired shut for at least a month.
The single mother had several teeth knocked out during the attack.
Klein was attacked while walking near her home, as her son said, “I want predators and violent attackers to be held accountable, given longer sentences, and simply not be on the streets.”
Klein, a home health care nurse practitioner for an elderly woman with ALS and future grandmother, faces a long road to recovery that will require multiple surgeries.
TO GoFundMe created after the attack that has so far raised $100,000 also notes that Klein’s health insurance canceled her on March 31, just a week before the attack, and that she was in the middle of obtaining California coverage when the assault occurred.
Klein’s son, Robert, added that while he was glad to see an arrest had been made, he wondered why such a “predator” could walk the streets freely.
“I want predators and violent offenders to be held accountable, given longer sentences, and simply not be on the streets with our family members.”
Klein said he hopes his attacker will be sentenced to life in prison and that local officials will prioritize combating homelessness and drug abuse in Southern California.
The GoFundMe to help Klein with his medical costs notes that the fundraising goal was increased to cover “additional facial reconstruction” and a home security system.
“It is doubtful that she will be able to return to work for at least 6 to 8 weeks and she is very worried about losing her small rental in Venice, where she and her cat have resided for years,” the fundraiser says.
“Many may know her for the wonderful sand art she builds in Venice for all events.”
