Candlelight Vigil To Honor Victim Of Venice Canals Assault Thursday

VENICE, CA — The community will gather Thursday evening for a vigil honoring the memory of Sarah Alden, a mother of two who died from injuries suffered in a brutal sexual assault that horrified the Venice community.

The candlelight vigil will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at 2602 Grand Canal in memory of Sarah Alden, who was one of two women brutally attacked and sexually assaulted the same night while walking along the Venice Canals more than two months ago.

Alden, 53, had been in a coma since the April 6 attack, and she was declared brain-dead last month. Friends said she was taken off life support on May 24.

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

Her children donated her organs, and her loved ones paid tribute to the Massachusetts resident who was killed just as she was planning to start a new chapter of her life on the West Coast.

"She was a lover of sunrises on the east coast and sunsets on the west coast. Sarah homeschooled her two sons, adored her animals, and was blessed with a refined eye for vintage jewelry which she sold on roseark.com," a friend wrote on her GoFundMe page to raise money for her funeral and medical expenses. "At 53 years old, Sarah was looking to start a new chapter in her journey; to walk a new road. Instead, her life was violently taken from her."

The alleged assailant, Anthony Francisco Jones, 29, was arrested in San Diego a few days following the attacks and charged with two counts of forcible rape and one count each of sexual penetration by use of force, mayhem, torture, attempted murder and sodomy by use of force. Following Alden's death, the District Attorney's Office announced that Jones had also been charged with murder.

"Our hearts and deepest sympathies go out to the victim's family and friends during this unimaginably tragic time," District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement May 28 announcing the murder charge. "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 crimes previously alleged."

According to the Los Angeles Police Department and prosecutors, the first attack occurred about 10:30 p.m. April 6 in the 2700 block of Strongs Drive, where Alden was approached from behind and struck with a blunt object, leaving Alden unconscious. The suspect similarly attacked another woman about an hour later as she was walking near the Sherman Canal. That woman also suffered severe injuries but survived.

According to a GoFundMe page established to help pay funeral expenses, Alden was planning to meet two close friends for breakfast on April 7 to tell them she was moving to the Los Angeles area from Massachusetts.

The GoFundMe page to help Alden's family with medical and funeral expenses can be found here.https://www.gofundme.com/f/mem...

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.