Family hold vigil to remember Venice Canals attack victim

Loved ones held a vigil to honor a woman who was murdered after a brutal sexual assault along the Venice Canals.

Sarah Alden, 53, was declared brain-dead in May before being taken off life support shortly after.

Portions of the Sherman Canal were transformed Thursday night as hundreds of friends, family, neighbors and community members gathered to honor the woman.

Flowers decorated footbridges along the canal and musicians on the water serenaded loved ones who looked on.

On April 6, Alden and another woman, Mary Klein, 54, were viciously attacked in separate incidents as they were walking along the famed canals. 

The vicious attack left Alden in a coma and Klein severely injured and hospitalized.

Police confirmed that both attacks had a “sexual element” to them. The suspect, Anthony Francisco Jones, 29, was arrested days later on April 11 for the assaults.

Jones was captured on security cameras walking near the canals that night holding a liquor bottle that investigators said was used in the attacks. He is also believed to be a homeless man.

Loved ones remembered Alden as a kind friend and loving mother of two sons.

Alden had worked hard to achieve her dream of living in Venice Beach. She had just moved across the country from Massachusetts and signed a lease for an apartment when she was murdered.

“This should have never happened,” said a loved one during Alden’s vigil. “We have a right to walk down our streets. We have a right to enjoy this lovely town that we have come to call home.”

The second victim, Klein, spoke to KTLA from her hospital bed after the attack. She said she believed the suspect was trying to kill her that night.

Her jaw was wired shut and she suffered severe injuries including jaw fractures, broken teeth, a large gash on the back of her head and multiple contusions. Her face and chest were severely bruised and swollen.

“For some reason, I survived and I’m not really sure why,” Klein said. 

Klein, who has a long road to recovery ahead, was finally released from the hospital. She is now focusing her efforts on campaigning for criminal justice reform. 

“This shouldn’t be happening in our country,” Klein said. “We have police and we have laws and they’re letting people out of jail who shouldn’t be let out, who are violent criminals.”

“What do you say to women who are feeling afraid in their own neighborhood?” said Traci Park, a Los Angeles city council member who attended the vigil. “How do I address the anger of a community pushed to the brink? How do I even begin to acknowledge the depth of the loss and the grief felt by Sarah’s family and loved ones?”

The attacks have left many Venice residents stunned, angered and worried for their safety.

Resident Aimee Nelson said there’s been a notable increase in violent crime and neighbors are watching out for each other. One neighbor even provided her with pepper spray and a stun gun.

“Our neighbors have been asking each other to walk them home, people are avoiding going out at night because they feel unsafe,” said Ramon Goni, a Venice local. 

Some residents told KTLA they believed the canals to be a relatively safe area but are no longer certain now.

“It was a little pocket that was different from the rest of Venice, away from all the homeless and where the attacks were,” said a resident named Tim. “But now, I think [the crime] has penetrated in.”

The suspect, Jones, was arrested and charged with murder, forcible rape, torture, mayhem, sexual penetration by use of force and sodomy by use of force.