Man sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for rape and murder in Venice

The man accused of raping two women and murdering one of them in brutal attacks along the canals of Venice on the same day in April pleaded guilty to the charges on Friday and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Anthony Francisco Jones pleaded no contest to murder under special circumstances, two counts of rape, one count of sexual penetration by force, one count of assault, one count of torture and one count of sodomy by force in connection with the April 6 attacks.

After Jones pleaded not guilty to those charges, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Cathryn F. Brougham sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole and 107 years to life plus eight years for the misdemeanor assault charge.

Jones also admitted during a court appearance that he kidnapped the victims, committed crimes against several of them, and inflicted serious bodily harm on them. He also admitted that the murder occurred while he was committing rape and sodomy.

Sarah Alden, a 53-year-old mother of two, fell into a coma after the attack and eventually succumbed to her injuries. She was declared brain dead on May 20 and taken off life support four days later. Her organs were donated after her death.

The second woman, Mary Klein, was hospitalized with significant injuries, including multiple broken jaws, but survived.

Klein described her ordeal to the Times from her hospital bed immediately after the attack. She had been walking after work when she was knocked to the ground and brutally beaten, breaking her jaw at least eight times, knocking out several teeth, suffering a large cut on the back of her head and severe bruising on her face and neck.

“Could this have been prevented?” Klein wondered in a statement read at the sentencing. “This guy was basically marching up and down Washington Boulevard in Venice Beach, Los Angeles' popular tourist destination, with a half-empty liquor bottle, threatening women on the street. If he had been stopped before the attack, imagine how different life would be today for me, for Sarah, for Sarah's sons, and for all the people who were terrorized by this attack.”

Surveillance video from a nearby home in the 2700 block of Strongs Drive captured the attack, which prosecutors described in a document requesting Jones be held without bail, and shows a man dragging Klein's body toward the gate of a home.

The video then shows the man sexually assaulting the unconscious Klein for about seven minutes. After the assault, he stands up, pulls up his pants, kicks Klein and walks away. He then returns to Klein's side and kicks her in the head “with full force” as she sits up. When she was on the ground, he stood on her head with both feet before finally leaving the scene.

It is the Times' policy not to identify victims of sexual assault unless they come forward publicly, but Klein, 55, agreed to tell her story. Klein still needs tens of thousands of dollars worth of orthodontic surgery, and friends have set up an online fundraising account.

This night of violence – with its brutality and seemingly motive – has shaken the community. Many locals had always believed that the tourist destination, with its multimillion-dollar homes along the waterways, was safe, even if they were alone at night.

After the verdict, District Attorney George Gascón praised the investigative work of the LAPD's sex offender detectives. “Their tireless efforts and dedication to justice were instrumental in bringing the perpetrator to justice and providing some measure of justice for the victims,” ​​he said.

“Our prosecutors fought hard today to bring justice in response to the heinous acts of Mr. Anthony Jones, including a brutal murder. Our condolences go out to the victim, the survivors, their families and the Venice community,” the prosecutor added.