Woman is declared brain dead and taken off life support following random rape that happened hours after she arrived in LA to start new life: Second victim ‘attacked by same suspect’ survived
A woman who had just moved to Los Angeles to start a new life but was brutally raped while walking along the canals of Venice Beach has died after being in a coma for almost two months.
Sarah Alden, 53, was declared brain dead earlier this week after she was attacked on April 6 while walking along the banks of Southern California’s famous canals.
Alden, a mother of two sons, was subjected to the most horrific attack where she was brutally raped and assaulted hours after moving into her apartment 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 attacked in Venice and taken off life support after two months
Alden was a mother who had just moved to Venice Beach, California, where she fulfilled a lifelong dream
She too was sexually assaulted and left with serious injuries to her body and face, believing she was about to be killed.
The suspect, believed to be a homeless man, Anthony Francisco Jones, 29, was arrested by police on April 11 for the assaults. Police confirmed that both attacks had a ‘sexual element’.
“The level of brutality that was dealt with was deeply reprehensible,” said LA County District Attorney George Gascón.
Surveillance footage showed Jones carrying a bottle of liquor as he walked close to the canals.
It is believed that the bottle he was carrying was also used in the attack, which occurred just as Alden had moved from Massachusetts to California to start a new life.
Police say 29-year-old Anthony Francisco Jones was seen on surveillance video stalking the area where both attacks occurred
Police arrested Jones, who is homeless, on April 11 after he allegedly attacked Klein and Alden within an hour of each other
Earlier the day before the attack, she had signed a lease on an apartment in Venice and planned to surprise friends at brunch the next day, when the brutal attack suddenly undermined those plans in an attack that ultimately ended her life would make.
After the attack, she was left for dead and remained in a coma until the end of her life after suffering a number of 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 others.
“She was a lover of East Coast sunrises and West Coast sunsets. Sarah adored her two sons, her animals, and was blessed with a refined eye for vintage jewelry,” reads a tribute to Alden.
Earlier the day before the attack, Sarah Alden had signed a lease on an apartment in Venice Beach and planned to surprise 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 others
Alden had moved to Los Angeles from Massachusetts and planned to start a new life there
Her children would take comfort in knowing that their mother’s organs will be used to save the lives of others
Jones has been charged with forcible rape, torture, attempted murder, mutilation, 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 move forward to ensure that the suspect is held fully accountable for his conduct.”
“It’s very sudden and shocking,” said Cynthia King, Alden’s girlfriend KTL. “She was extremely intelligent, well-educated and witty. She was stolen from us. It feels like I’m in an alternate reality. This isn’t even real.’
a 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 to her face.
Klein was a caregiver for an elderly woman with ALS and an expectant grandmother
Klein, 54, the second woman attacked, says she barely remembers the vicious attack that left her with a broken jaw, missing teeth and extensive bruising to her face and chest.
“It was like being hit by a truck,” she said KTL. ‘My teeth were knocked out. My jaw is wired shut. He smashed my face in… I think he tried to kill me.”
Klein, a single mother, said she was knocked down out of nowhere while walking home around 10:30 p.m.
“Suddenly I become unconscious,” she said from her hospital bed.
She said she thought her attacker was ‘trying to kill her’ as she was mercilessly beaten on the head and torso.
Her injuries included a broken jaw, broken teeth, multiple contusions and a large gash on the back of her head.
Klein (seen before the attack left) suffered serious injuries that left her jaw wired 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 just off the streets’
As a professional home nurse for an elderly woman with ALS and expectant grandmother, Klein faces a long road to recovery that will require multiple surgeries.
a GoFundMe founded after the attack that has raised $100,000 so far, also notes that Klein’s health insurance policy dropped her on March 31, just a week before the attack, and that she was in the process of obtaining California Coverage when the attack occurred.
Klein’s son Robert added that while he was happy to see an arrest had been made, he wondered why such a “predator” could walk the streets freely.
“I want predators and violent attackers to be held accountable, given longer sentences and simply not to be on the streets with our family members.”
Klein said she hopes her attacker is sentenced to life in prison and hoped local officials would prioritize addressing homelessness and substance abuse in Southern California.
The GoFundMe to help Klein with her medical expenses 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 in six to eight weeks and she is very concerned about losing her small rental home in Venice, where she and her cat have lived for years,” the fundraiser said.
‘Many may know her from the beautiful sand art she builds in Venice for all events.’