One of the two women who was viciously and violently attacked near the Venice Canals in April has been declared brain dead.
Anthony Francisco Jones, 29, was arrested in San Diego last month for the assaults 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.
KTLA 5 reported one victim, a woman from Massachusetts, no longer has any brain function.
District Attorney George Gascon's office released a statement to KTLA5 regarding whether his office would add any new charge in light of the recent developments.
"We are aware of the tragic circumstances surrounding one of the victims of last month's brutal sexual assaults at the Venice Canals. Our hearts and deepest sympathies go out to the victim's family and friends during this unimaginably difficult time. Our office is evaluating how we will proceed to ensure the defendant is held fully accountable for his conduct."
The second victim, 54-year-old Mary Klein, remains in the hospital with several bruises. Due to the beating that she suffered, doctors were forced to wire her jaw shut.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the first attack occurred about 10:30 p.m. April 6 in the 2700 block of Strongs Drive, where a woman was approached from behind and struck with a blunt object, leaving the woman unconscious. The suspect similarly attacked another woman about an hour later as she was walking near the Sherman Canal.
Police said both victims sustained significant injuries.
The charges include allegations that the crime were committed in the course of a kidnapping, targeted multiple victims and inflicted great bodily injury. Jones could face life in prison if convicted as charged, according to the district attorney's office.
Sandra Clark a reporter for The Westside Current told KNX News she spoke with the woman’s close family friends.
“We haven't heard anything at all about the second victim up until now,” she said. “We know about the first victim and we were able to support her and we continue to do so as a community, and we would like to do that with this woman who remains unidentified.”
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She said this never should have happened.
“And no one ever expected something like this to happen on the Venice Canal,” she said. “And I had just been telling someone maybe a day before the assault(s) actually happened that the canals are kind of protected in a way from all the chaos that we often see like on the boardwalk.”
Jones is being held without bail and is next court date is June 11 at the LAX Superior Courthouse in Westchester, according to county jail records. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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