Venice canals attack victim reportedly removed from life support

A bridge over a canal and homes and trees on both sides of it.

May 25, 2024 10:59 AM PT

A victim of last month’s attacks in the Venice canals was removed from life support Friday night, according to media reports and an online fundraising page.

The woman had been in a coma for nearly two months following the April 6 attack, in which she was severely beaten and sexually assaulted, according to investigators. She was surrounded by family and friends, and her organs were donated, according to a report from KTLA-TV and a GoFundMe page set up for the woman’s memorial service.

The Times generally does not name victims of sexual assault.

Friends of the 53-year-old victim told KTLA that she had just signed a lease for an apartment in Venice and planned to move there from Massachusetts in what they described as a lifelong dream. The mother of two had planned to meet friends for brunch to tell them the news, but never got the chance, because she was attacked the night before, according to the fundraising page.

The attack was one of two to take place less than a mile apart in Venice between 10:30 and 11:30 that night. A second woman who was brutally beaten survived.

She told The Times last month that she’d gone for a walk after work to reach her daily 10,000-steps goal when she was struck from behind. She spoke from a hospital where she was recovering from at least eight fractures to her jaw, a large cut to the back of the head and bruises on her face and neck.

Last month, the district attorney’s office charged Anthony Francisco Jones, 29, with multiple counts in connection with both attacks, including rape, torture and attempted murder. He remains jailed without bail, according to online inmate records.

Times staff writers Karen Garcia, Colleen Shalby and Richard Winton contributed to this report.