Candlelight vigil held for woman attacked on Venice canals – NBC Los Angeles

Mourners gathered Thursday for a candlelight vigil in memory of Sarah Alden, one of two women brutally attacked, sexually assaulted and beaten on the canals of Venice more than two months ago.

Alden, 53, had been in a coma since the April 6 attack and was declared brain dead last month. Friends said life support was taken off May 24 after her organs were removed for donation.

“Sarah was incredibly unique, funny and witty,” said Cynthia King, one of the many relatives who attended the vigil.

The alleged perpetrator, 29-year-old Anthony Francisco Jones, was arrested a few days after the attacks in San Diego and charged with two counts of rape and one count each of sexual abuse by use of force, assault, torture, attempted murder and sodomy by use of force. After Alden’s death, the district attorney’s office announced that Jones had also been charged with murder.

“Our deepest sympathies go out to the victim’s family and friends during this unimaginably tragic time,” District Attorney George Gascón said in a May 28 statement announcing the murder charges. “We are committed to seeking justice for both victims of these heinous crimes. The additional murder charge carries a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, in addition to the life sentences for the previously charged crimes.”

According to Los Angeles police and prosecutors, the first attack occurred on April 6 at around 10:30 p.m. in the 2700 block of Strongs Drive, where Alden was attacked from behind and struck with a blunt object, rendering him unconscious. About an hour later, the suspect attacked another woman in a similar manner as she walked near Sherman Canal. That woman also suffered serious injuries but survived.

Alden, a Massachusetts resident, was a mother of two sons and was in the process of moving to Venice when the attack occurred.

According to a GoFundMe page set up to cover funeral expenses, she had planned to meet two close friends for breakfast on April 7 and tell them she was moving from Massachusetts to the Los Angeles area.

The candlelight vigil was scheduled for Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the 2600 block of Grand Canal.