The person charged with raping two ladies and murdering one in all them in brutal assaults alongside the Venice Canals on the identical day in April pleaded no contest to the fees Friday and was sentenced to life in jail with out parole.
Anthony Francisco Jones pleaded no contest to homicide with particular circumstances, two counts of rape, one rely of sexual penetration by use of drive, one rely of mayhem, one rely of torture and one rely of sodomy by use of drive in reference to the April 6 assaults.
After Jones pleaded no contest to these fees, Los Angeles County Superior Courtroom Decide Cathryn F. Brougham sentenced him to life in jail with out the potential for parole, plus 107 years to life, plus eight years for the mayhem offense.
Jones, throughout a court docket look, additionally admitted that he kidnapped the victims, dedicated offenses towards a couple of of them and inflicted nice bodily harm on them. He additionally admitted that the homicide occurred whereas he was engaged within the fee of rape and sodomy.
Sarah Alden, a 53-year-old mom of two, was left in a coma from her assault and ultimately succumbed to her accidents. She was declared brain-dead on Might 20 and faraway from life assist 4 days later; her organs have been donated after she died.
The second girl, Mary Klein, was hospitalized with important accidents, together with a number of fractures to her jaw, however survived.
Klein described her ordeal to The Occasions from her hospital mattress within the fast aftermath of the assault. She had gone for a stroll after work when she was struck to the bottom and brutally crushed, leaving her with no less than eight fractures to her jaw, a number of tooth knocked free, a big reduce to the again of her head and extreme bruises masking her face and neck.
Surveillance video from a close-by dwelling within the 2700 block of Strongs Drive that captured the assault — which prosecutors described in a doc requesting that Jones be held with out bail — exhibits a person dragging Klein’s physique to the gate of a home.
The person is then seen within the video sexually assaulting Klein, who was unconscious, for about seven minutes. After the assault, he stands, pulls his pants up, kicks Klein and walks away. He then returns to Klein’s facet and kicks her within the head “with full force” as she was sitting up. As she lay on the bottom, he stood with each toes on high of her head earlier than lastly leaving the scene.
It’s The Occasions’ coverage to not determine victims of sexual assault until they arrive ahead publicly, however Klein, 55, agreed to share her story
That evening of violence — with its brutality and seeming lack of a motive — has shaken the group. Many locals had at all times felt the vacationer vacation spot with multimillion-dollar houses perched alongside the waterways was secure, even when strolling alone at evening.
Following the sentencing, L.A. County Dist. Atty George Gascón praised the investigative work by the LAPD intercourse crimes detectives. “Their tireless efforts and commitment to justice have been instrumental in holding the offender accountable and providing a measure of justice for the victims,” he stated.
“Our prosecutors fought hard to serve justice today in response to Mr. Anthony Jones’ vile actions, including a brutal murder. Our hearts go out to the victim, the survivor, their families, and the Venice community,” the prosecutor added.
