Anne Pressly News Updates Only - No Discussion Please...

[One2Snoop]

....

Originally Posted by FDInLaw

Anne Pressly, 26, a news reporter for KATV, was assaulted in her home on Club Road in the Country Club neighborhood last night and suffered serious wounds.

A police spokesman said Pressly was "beaten and stabbed" and that her injuries were "life-threatening." The police do not have a suspect.
Police were called about 5 a.m. Her mother, Patricia Cannady of Little Rock, had found her in bed suffering from severe injuries. Neighbors said it was her mother's custom to make a wakeup call to her daughter each morning and she went to check on her when she did not respond. Another neighbor returned Pressly's dogs (two cocker spaniels, according to her KATV webpage) to the home early this morning. They'd apparently been let loose some time during the night. Police said Pressly's purse was missing, which raised robbery as a potential motive. There were no signs of forced entry at the home.

Police said Pressly was last seen in good health at a friend's house about 10:30 p.m. Sunday.

The initial police report said Pressly was unconscious when they arrived and that there were signs of broken bones, severe lacerations and possible internal injury. The officer who responded observed bleeding from her head.

KATV's report on the assault said police were interviewing friends about whether Pressly had ever mentioned being threatened or stalked, but a police spokesman told KTHV there'd been no reports of stalking by Pressly. . .





http://www.arktimes.com/

[One2Snoop]

Originally Posted by FDInLaw

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,441321,00.html

An Arkansas television anchor who filmed a bit role for the movie "W." was found in her home early Monday suffering from life-threatening injuries caused by a brutal beating.

Anne Pressly, 26, the morning anchor for KATV-TV in Little Rock, was found by her mother at about 4:30 a.m. lying in her bed and bleeding from "severe injuries," police said.

"We do believe she was beaten," Sgt. Cassandra Davis of the Little Rock Police Department told FOXNews.com. She said the injuries were to the upper body and included stab wounds.

Click here for photos.

Pressly was listed in critical condition at a local hospital, Davis said.

Pressly may have been attacked during a robbery, as her purse is missing. But Davis said that police haven't found any forced entry to her home on Club Road in Little Rock.

"It’s not a neighborhood known for any violent crime," Davis said.

Police do not have suspects in the case, but said they were questioning neighbors, friends and co-workers, Davis said.Pressly was seen in "good condition" at 10:30 p.m. and her mother, who normally gives Pressly a wake-up call, found her daughter, Davis said.

"She didn’t get an answer so she went to the address on Club Road, and she found her daughter inside the residence lying in the bed suffering from some severe injuries," Davis told FOXNews.com.

Pressly's dogs, which were also missing, have been found.

Early Monday afternoon, a man who answered a phone listed for Pressly's mother, Patricia Cannady, said the family had no comment.

According to her resume on the Internet Movie Database, the ABC anchor played a news commentator in Oliver Stone's new movie, "W." She also played a sorority girl on the soap opera "As The World Turns."

Pressly won her role in "W.", which was filmed in Shreveport, La., when she went to the city for a story on the movie and Shreveport's film industry. She appears briefly as a conservative commentator who speaks favorably of President Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech.

KATV's Web site notes that Pressly's most notable interview was with Vice President Dick Cheney. Pressly was returning from a story in Humphrey and traveling through Stuttgart, where the highway was blocked in front of hunting supply store Mack's Prairie Wings.

It turned out that Cheney, an avid hunter, was inside. Pressly asked for an interview, which she conducted on the ammunition aisle.

Pressly is a 2004 graduate of Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn.

During its 11:30 a.m. newscast, anchor Jason Pederson read a story about the attack and said Pressly was hospitalized.

"We would ask that you keep Anne in your thoughts and, especially, in your prayers," Pederson said.

Her fans had created a Facebook prayer page Monday afternoon.

Click here for Anne Pressly's IMDb.com page.

FOXNews.com's Sara Bonisteel and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

[One2Snoop]

adding...

Originally Posted by FDInLaw

It looks like Anne was not stabbed. . .

"Davis said Pressly was stabbed, but KATV cited investigators later in reporting that all of her injuries were from being beaten in the head and upper body."
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h...mlK1AD93UGEG80

[One2Snoop]

adding...

Originally Posted by FDInLaw

Little Rock Police Department Press Release:

During our investigation, we have obtained many statements and possible leads. At this time, we are following up on all leads. It has come to our attention that reports are being made in reference to the possible use of evidence from the crime scene. We are not prepared to release nor encourage the release of any information about possible evidence or information obtained during the investigation of this case.

We are striving to conduct a thorough investigation and the untimely release of information, true or false, will interfere with our investigation. Information that is not released from this office is unofficial and its truthfulness should be in question. We realize it is your responsibility to report information fast and accurate. However, at the request of our hard working detectives and the Chief of Police, please refrain from the release of information that might be detrimental to a successful prosecution.
http://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/...=74410&catid=2

[LetsBeConcerned]

Cops Search For TV Anchor Anne Pressly's Attacker

Newswoman Anne Pressly was severely beaten in her home.


Police have found a new lead in the search for local news anchor Anne Pressly's attacker: a cashier at a Little Rock, Ark. Shell gas station told AMW that Anne's credit card was used at one of the gas pumps there the night of her attack.

The employee said that there was a surveillance camera working on the premises, and that the video has been turned over to police, but investigators working the case have not confirmed this information.

Cops are searching for any information leading to the person, or persons, who attacked Little Rock morning TV anchor Anne Pressly, 26. The popular journalist was found in the early morning hours of October 20, 2008 with life-threatening injuries.

The last contact Anne had with anyone was through a text message with a friend at 9:50 p.m. on October 19, 2008.

Anne's mother, who was visiting from South Carolina, says she always calls Anne in the morning for an early wake-up call, and was alarmed when her daughter didn't answer her repeated phone calls.

She went to Anne's house to check on her, and was horrified to find Anne in bed, bleeding.

Cops say Anne was beaten in the head and chest area, and was listed in critical condition at a local hospital.

Everyone who knows Anne has describes her as a smart, popular woman with no known enemies.

Investigators are trying to determine why Anne was attacked. They suspect that the beating happened during the course of a robbery, because Anne's purse was missing, but they say there is the potential that the attacker was a stalker.

Police are working to determine the identity of the culprit, and are looking for any information that might lead an arrest.

If you know anything about this savage beating, call our hotline at 1-800-CRIME-TV right now.


Arkansas Anchorwoman Dies After Beating
An Arkansas television anchorwoman found beaten at her home earlier this week has died from her injuries.

Hospital officials say Anne Pressly, 26, died Saturday at St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center. Hospital spokeswoman Margaret Preston says family members declined to release any other details about Pressly's death.

Pressly was beaten around the head, face and neck during the attack. She had been unable to communicate with her family or police, while being kept sedated in the intensive care unit.

Pressly was discovered Monday morning a half-hour before she was to appear on ABC affiliate KATV's "Daybreak" program. Her mother went to the woman's home after she didn't answer her regular wake-up call.

Police have yet to identify a suspect in the attack.

The Associated Press Contributed To This Story



http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=60349

[One2Snoop]

Reward of $30,000 to catch killer of Anne Pressly
The Anne Pressly Reward Fund has raised $30,000 (£20,000) to catch the killer of the television news anchorwoman who was found savagely beaten in her bed.

By Urmee Khan
Last Updated: 4:11PM GMT 27 Oct 2008

Anne Pressly, a news presenter in Little Rock, Arkansas, was found unconscious in her home Photo: AP Miss Pressly died from her injuries on Saturday.

Doctors had been initially been "guardedly optimistic" that the 26-year-old might recover from severe injuries sustained in what police believe was a random burglary on her house in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Miss Pressly, who had a small role in the George Bush biopic W, was discovered by her mother at 4.30am last Monday morning, half an hour before she was due to present the local station KATV's Daybreak show.

She was lying unconscious and bleeding from the head after being hit repeatedly in the face, head and neck with a blunt instrument.

On Saturday, doctors said the swelling in her brain had improved and they were reducing her sedatives.

However, late that night, her former channel KATV announced that she had died.

The Little Rock television station set up the reward fund for anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for her death.

By 10pm, $30,000 (£20,000) had been donated to the Anne Pressly Reward Fund.

Detectives have not completely ruled out that Miss Pressly might have been targeted because of her media profile, but said they had found no evidence to support the theory.

Oliver Stone, the director of W, a cinematic send-up of President George W Bush, reportedly gave her a small part in the film after she visited the set for a story and he noticed her resemblance to Ann Coulter, a conservative pundit.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...e-Pressly.html

[One2Snoop]

LRPD: Despite Silence, Work on Anne Pressly Case Continues
By Mark Hengel
10/27/2008 4:43:01 PM


Although the Little Rock Police Department has not updated the press and public about the investigation of Anne Pressly's assault, that does not mean work has not gone on, according to a news release issued late Monday afternoon by the department.

Pressly, an anchor with local ABC affiliate KATV-TV, Channel 7, died Saturday night, nearly a week after being found unconscious and beaten in her home early last Monday.

The LRPD said it has received assistance from multiple law enforcement departments - both state and national - and remains in contact with others, according to the release.

"I recognize that the lack of daily disclosures or additional information is frustrating to the media and to members of our community," Stuart Thomas, LRPD chief of police, said in the news release. "However, the foremost objective here is for a successful investigation leading to an arrest and conviction in this matter and the Department will conduct any releases of information with this objective solely on point."

Thomas then asked that all complaints be directed at him.
"Any complaints or criticism concerning the Department's efforts or the lack of public releases of information should be addressed solely to me and not to the police officers and detectives who are working diligently on behalf of our citizens," according to the news release.

The KATV "Daybreak" anchor was found beaten in her apartment early Oct. 20. Pressly died from the injuries Saturday night at St. Vincent's Infirmary Medical Center in Little Rock. Pressly suffered wounds to her head and upper body, and doctors at the hospital attempted to stabilize her. Friday, doctors said they were "guardedly optimistic" about her recovery during a news conference at the hospital

Detectives from the LRPD's violent crimes division, homicide and crime scene search units have been involved in the investigation, according to the news release, and assistance of the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory, North Little Rock Police Department and U.S. Secret Service has been "utilized." In addition, the LRPD has "been in contact" with the local office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Arkansas State Police and U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Arkansas. The department may tap the three law enforcement agencies if additional resources or expertise is needed, according to the release.

The department is attempting to keep the investigation under wraps so false or untimely information will not leak.

"The department has not released incomplete, speculative or developing information during the course of this investigation, but such should not suggest that work is not proceeding nor being aggressively pursued in this matter," according to the release.

The department also pointed out that it is investigating three homicides that occurred during the past week.

"The Department continues to respond to all other service requests and incidents as required. The past week has been difficult with three homicides in this City, each tragic and senseless and devastating in and of itself, but I believe the Department has and will continue to respond appropriately," the news release said.

http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/arti...=all&link=perm

[lorettalockhorn]

Little Rock - In a statement released Monday, Little Rock Police Chief Stuart Thomas defended his agency's handling of the Anne Pressly homicide investigation:

This release addresses the continuing investigation by the Little Rock Police Department regarding the homicide of Anne Pressly. The Department has not released incomplete, speculative or developing information during the course of this investigation, but such should not suggest that work is not proceeding nor being aggressively pursued in this matter. The quality and integrity of this investigation is paramount to the Department and, given the volume of work involved, the untimely release of inaccurate or incomplete information tends to misdirect investigative time and efforts. As a result, the Department has refrained from public disclosure of daily investigative progress and has discouraged the release of any information pertaining to this investigation. The Department will most assuredly make public any information which might, in the determination of the Detectives working this case, advance the investigation or might be useful for the security of the community as a whole.

Detectives assigned to the Department’s Violent Crimes, Homicide, and Crime Scene Search Units are actively participating in this investigation. The Department has also utilized the assistance of the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory, the North Little Rock Police Department and the United States Secret Service during the course of the past week. Personnel with the Crime Laboratory have invested significant effort and hours in the furtherance of this investigation and the members of the Little Rock Police Department are grateful for their work. The Department has also been in contact with the local F.B.I. Office, the Arkansas State Police, and the U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Arkansas and may access any needed resources or the expertise of those agencies if needed.

I recognize that the lack of daily disclosures or additional information is frustrating to the media and to members of our community. However, the foremost objective here is for a successful investigation leading to an arrest and conviction in this matter and the Department will conduct any releases of information with this objective solely on point.

The Department continues to respond to all other service requests and incidents as required. The past week has been difficult with three homicides in this City, each tragic and senseless and devastating in and of itself, but I believe the Department has and will continue to respond appropriately.

Any complaints or criticism concerning the Department’s efforts or the lack of public releases of information should be addressed solely to me and not to the police officers and detectives who are working diligently on behalf of our citizens.

-Stuart Thomas
Chief of Police



http://www.katv.com/news/stories/1008/564841.html

[FDInLaw]

Pressly, Johnston said, was full of "happiness and energy and cheer. How can you be cheery at that hour of the morning? I don't know. That's just Anne."

Mourners filled the 650 seats in St. Andrew's sanctuary and another 150 watched on television monitors in a vestibule and parlor. The crowd included nearly all of KATV's news staff, plus dozens of reporters and photographers from the ABC affiliate's competitors.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h...mlK1AD94524S82

[FDInLaw]

>snip<
Remembering her short but full life was the purpose. Anne's parents leaned on their faith.

The Rt. Rev. TJ Johnston explains, "Words like joy and happiness and energy and cheery. I don't know how anyone that cheers at that hour of the morning, but it was just stuff that she did. See I don't think that stuff ends. I think it just gets better."

More than 800 people attended the memorial service including employees from all the Little Rock television stations, police officers, those who never knew Anne, and countless family members and friends.

Mourner Jean DeWese says, "Every time I saw her she remembered me by name. I didn't know her by name, but she would always come into the store where I work and just asked me how I was doing. You could just see sunshine coming out of her every time you met her."

During the nearly two hour service, the Rt. Rev. Philip Jones told mourners that no parent wants to outlive his or her child.

"God was there that night with Anne when she was being murdered and God is there in your suffering and in the evil," Jones explained.

Jones went on to say that there's no more crying or pain in heaven.

"I think she is celebrating her new life in heaven. I just know that everyone is really going to miss her," says mourner Lisa Archer.

Cherishing the warmth and joy Anne brought to everyone, her shining life missed but never forgotten.

DeWese says, "She touched so many lives, and I know she was looking down on us."

Guy and Patti Cannady, Pressly's parents, are working on establishing a scholarship fund for journalism students in their daughter's honor. . .

http://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/...=74804&catid=2

[FDInLaw]

(>snip<)

Among the gathered mourners were reporters, photographers, politicians, and police officers.

Was her killer there, too?

Sadly, it's not a crazy question. Police don't seem to have a person of interest in the 26-year-old journalist's brutal murder. They know that someone used her credit card after Pressly was attacked in her home sometime on the night of October 19/20, 2008.

There was video of the person using her credit card. That video was apparently too grainy or blurry to reveal much about the person who used it.

Naturally, Little Rock police have to be cagey about their investigation, not reveal their hand, but one gets the feeling things might be stalling. Little Rock's Chief of Police, Stuart Thomas, said the following to NBC News: "...[Any] information about what we may speculate or what we may believe or leads we may be pursuing at this point, we’d rather not discuss."

Everyone seems to agree that the nature of the crime against Anne Pressly makes it seem personal. How else to judge the actions of an attacker who apparently focused all his rage on the face of an undeniably pretty woman? Anne Pressly's killer almost succeeded at breaking every bone in her face.

At least, it's easy to assume that a man killed Anne Pressly. Some comments on this blog have suggested that a jealous woman might have committed such a crime. That kind of thing has happened in the past, but I'm skeptical, at the moment.

So -- will Anne Pressly's murder become a cold case?

At the moment, I would be surprised if it did.

Little Rock police do still believe Anne's murder occurred during the course of a random robbery. If they are right about that, it's no wonder there is some real fear coursing through some Arkansas neighborhoods right now. Once most criminals cross a certain threshold of violence, they become that much more likely to do it again. Arkansas police know this. Anne Pressly's murder won't be a cold case to them for quite some time to come.

http://www.truecrimereport.com/2008/...in_anne_pr.php

[SaraSidle]

Originally Posted by FDInLaw

http://www.truecrimereport.com/2008/...in_anne_pr.php

FDInLaw (wonderwoman) do you think LE is hiding a lot of info. I still cannot believe 9 video cameras did not mean anything plus people at her party. IMO sara

[FDInLaw]

And Cannady said Anne actually goes on, in a sense, telling Smith, "When it became evident late Saturday afternoon of the outcome for Anne, we discussed the organ donation, and knew that that was something she would certainly have wanted to do. Twenty-four hours later, Sunday evening, we were advised that six people had been the recipient of Anne's gift. So there's a legacy that will continue to live on in other people through her. And for that, we're thankful and grateful."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/...elated_content

[FDInLaw]

Pressly's parents say daughter couldn't respond when asked who beat herBy Associated Press
11:36 AM EST, November 3, 2008
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The parents of slain TV anchorwoman Anne Pressly say their daughter never fully regained consciousness after the beating that resulted in her death. They also say Pressly couldn't say who took her life.

Guy and Patti Cannady said Monday in an interview NBC's "Today" show that they were grateful for the outpouring that followed the attack on their daughter. . .

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationwo...,6825399.story

[odette]

Police Tipline Activated on Pressly Murder Case

. . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .Anne Pressly

The Little Rock Police Department has set up a phone tip line in hopes of hearing from anyone with information about the October murder of Channel 7's Anne Pressly.

• Article Continued

http://arkansasmatters.com/content/fulltext/?cid=142181

[odette]

Slain anchor’s mom asked: ‘Anne, who did this?’

When she found her daughter beaten, ‘I couldn’t grasp what I was seeing’

For the first time since the savage beating and subsequent death of Anne Pressly, her mother recounted how she discovered the unconscious TV news anchor struggling to breathe in her Little Rock home.

“Anne, who did this to you? Who did this?” Patti Cannady asked repeatedly as she tried to comprehend the scene before calling 911 for help.

• Article Continued & Video

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27514729/

[odette]

This is a rush transcript from "On the Record ," November 6, 2008.

The slaying of Arkansas TV anchorwoman Anne Pressly remains a mystery.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,448454,00.html

[odette]

Anchorwoman's Parents Comb Through Crime Scene

Patti Cannady Recounts the Day She Found Her Daughter Barely Alive

Police are still searching for the person who killed Anne Pressly, a 26-year-old Little Rock, Ark., anchorwoman who was found brutally beaten in her bed Oct. 20. She died several days later from her injuries.

Pressly's mother, Patti Cannady, discovered her daughter's body, and she and her husband, Guy, had not returned to the crime scene together since then. This weekend, though, they combed through the house with police, searching for clues that may have been missed.

The Cannadys gave "Good Morning America" an exclusive look inside their daughter's house, recreating the terrible morning she was found.

• Article Continued & Video

http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=6270046&page=1

[FDInLaw]

A killer remains at large 25 days after attacking Anne Pressly in her home causing her death. There are still many unanswered questions. Now apparently there are also some unasked questions.

Behind Anne's home is a vacant house undergoing renovations. It has remained empty other than contract workers the homeowner has hired to remodel it. The home owner talked to us and wonders why police have still not talked to him.

"Officers have made several visits to the neighborhood making contact with the neighbors."

But police have not contacted this neighbor.

"You could stand on our back deck and throw a rock into her backyard," Homeowner Dan Moore said. And given his proximity to the crime scene Moore is quite surprised.

"I doubt that we would have anything to contribute that would be substantial...but how would they know that?"

Moore owns the house behind Pressly’s. It's been empty since February, other than the dozen or so contract workers remodeling it.

Moore says police have not questioned his contract workers either, but he has. "I asked them point blank if they had been approached or questioned by the police and everyone I asked which was everyone indicated they hadn't"

Police insist the investigation is making progress despite the alleged lack of contact between them and some neighbors. "I don't have the case files in front of me right now so I can't comment on who exactly they talked to," says Cassandra Davis with the Little Rock Police Department. . .

http://www.cwarkansas.com/mostpopula...d-1d0f070085a2

See link for complete article.

[lorettalockhorn]

Hospital Employees Fired Over Access To Pressly Files

Several former employees of St. Vincent Medical Center were dismissed from their jobs for inappropriately reviewing medical records of Anne Pressly.

Pressly's family was notified at the time of the incidents.

A statement from St. Vincent said the hospital "is committed to providing not only excellent health care to our patients, but also providing those patients with the assurance that everything possible will be done to protect their privacy during and after they receive care at a St. Vincent facility."

The release went on to say that procedures are in place to monitor inappropriate access of patient information as required by federal law. All violations are subject to penalties up to and including dismissal of employees who violate those procedures.

http://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/...=75967&catid=2

[odette]

On air, on edge

It was, by anyone's estimation, an unspeakable crime: On Oct. 20, Anne Pressly — a vivacious, fun-loving young woman with a smile for everyone she met and an up-and-comer at KATV Channel 7 who seemed destined for TV journalism's Big Leagues — was found badly beaten and near death in her own bed, in her tidy house, in one of Little Rock's quietest neighborhoods. Though she hung on, lingering in a coma for five days, Anne died in a Little Rock hospital Oct. 25.

As of this writing, the motive behind Pressly's murder is still unknown, and her killer is still at large. Police say they have found nothing to indicate that Pressly's assault was at the hands of an obsessed fan or stalker. It may have only been cruel fate that a murderous intruder chose the house of a local celebratity to invade.

But the crime and the inability of the police to quickly catch who did it has many people in Little Rock television news more worried than ever — and they were, as a lot, pretty worried to begin with. Behind the camera, local news directors are thinking deeply about security, and the way they push their on-air talent. Meanwhile, some of those in the harsh glare of the spotlight speak of a newfound sense of fear. The question is: In an age when you can find out almost anything about anybody if you've got five minutes and an Internet connection, where's the line between promotion and privacy? Can a person be both well-known and safe?

• Continued
http://www.arktimes.com/Articles/Art...f-2d124a2bc485

[samanthajane13]

Police nab suspect in anchor's death, seek answers
By TOM PARSONS, Associated Press Writer Tom Parsons, Associated Press Writer – Thu Nov 27, 7:08 am ET

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Police for weeks had neither a suspect nor a motive in the beating death of a popular television anchorwoman. A suspect is now in custody, but many questions remain unanswered.

Officers arrested Curtis Lavelle Vance, 28, at a home in Little Rock on Wednesday night — tipped to his location after police held a late-evening news conference to reveal him as their suspect. "We went there and he's in custody," said Lt. Terry Hastings, a police spokesman.

Vance was charged with capital murder in the death of Anne Pressly. The 26-year-old anchorwoman, who had a small part in the President George W. Bush biopic "W," died Oct. 25 — five days after being severely beaten in what police described as a random attack at her home.

Vance lived in Marianna, in eastern Arkansas, but had numerous contacts in central Arkansas, Police Chief Stuart Thomas said. He named Vance as the suspect earlier Wednesday night and said Vance was traveling with a woman, three kids, a pistol and "lots of extra ammunition."

Within an hour of the news conference's end, officers were at a home south of downtown. Vance apparently was not armed when arrested, Hastings said early Thursday.

Police did not disclose what led them to suspect Vance, with Thomas saying only that the capital murder charge was based on "a very, very solid case due to solid detective work."

Hastings had said previously that DNA and other evidence from the scene gave police a portrait of the person they were looking for, though they did not have a name until this month. One of Pressly's credit cards was used at a gas station after the beating, but Hastings said security camera footage didn't provide a good look at the person using it.

Pressly lived alone in the city's Pulaski Heights section, a mix of mansions and bungalows near a country club. Her mother, visiting from out of town at the time of the attack but not staying at her daughter's home, found Pressly on Oct. 20, a half-hour before the anchorwoman was due on KATV's "Daybreak" program. The mother checked on the woman after she didn't answer her daily wake-up call.

The anchorwoman had been beaten severely on the head and upper torso. She never regained consciousness.

In the police station lobby before Thomas' news conference, several of Pressly's KATV colleagues quietly wiped tears from their faces. The station raised $50,000 for a reward fund.

Pressly was a native of Greenville, S.C., and moved with her family to Little Rock while she was in high school. She was a graduate of Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., which has discussed establishing a scholarship to honor her.

In the Oliver Stone movie "W" — the subject of a news story she covered as the film was being shot in Shreveport, La. — Pressly appeared briefly as a conservative commentator who speaks favorably of Bush's "Mission Accomplished" event on an aircraft carrier after the start of the Iraq war.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081127/...nchor_attacked

[FDInLaw]

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=6393888&page=1

[FDInLaw]

http://www.oliverwillis.com/news/200...records-order/

[FDInLaw]

http://in.truveo.com/Anne-Presslys-m.../id/1063229050

[FDInLaw]

https://www.examiner.com/x-953-LA-Ra...and-eyeopening

[lorettalockhorn]

2 slaying victims top list of deaths in Arkansas

http://www.thecabin.net/stories/1231...31080004.shtml

[FDInLaw]

New Charges In Anne Pressly's Case


Quote:
Curtis Lavelle Vance is officially charged with capital murder, rape, residential burglary and theft. Charging documents also list 68 potential witnesses for the prosecution against Vance including police detectives, DNA experts from the state crime lab and co-workers at KATV.

Vance will appear in Pulaski County Circuit Court Thursday, January 15, to enter a plea for these charges. Police say Vance has denied being in Little Rock when Anne was attacked October 20th.


http://www.katv.com/news/stories/0109/583967.html

[FDInLaw]

Vance will have an initial hearing Thursday morning in Pulaski County Circuit Court, where he's expected to enter a plea.

Police say he has denied being in Little Rock on the day of Pressly's death.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,478324,00.html

[FDInLaw]

Man accused in TV anchor's death pleads not guilty
By JON GAMBRELL – 3 hours ago

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A man accused in the slaying of a Little Rock, Ark., television news anchor has pleaded not guilty and says police have the wrong person.

Curtis Lavelle Vance appeared in court Thursday. Through his lawyer, the 28-year-old entered the plea to capital murder and rape charges in the October death of 26-year-old Anne Pressly.

As Vance left the courtroom he told reporters police have the wrong person. His family shouted "we love you" as deputies escorted him back to jail.

Also Thursday, Circuit Judge Chris Piazza lifted a gag order in the case, but said police case files would remain closed. Piazza set a Sept. 9 trial date.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...mlK1AD95NNQ700

[FDInLaw]

A judge has lifted a gag order in the prosecution of a man accused of killing television anchorwoman Anne Pressly, but said police case files would remain closed.

He hasn't decided yet whether or not he will allow cameras in the courtroom.

Meanwhile, Curtis Lavelle Vance pled not guilty Thursday morning on capital murder and rape charges stemming from Pressly's death. He told reporters that he didn't kill her and they have the wrong guy. His family shouted "we love you" as deputies escorted him back to jail.

Circuit Judge Chris Piazza set a trial date of Sept. 9 and a pretrial hearing for Aug. 18.

If convicted of capital murder, Vance either would be sentenced to death or a life sentence. Prosecutors have declined to comment on the case, citing a judge's order that bars the FBI, lawyers, police and the state Crime Laboratory from discussing the case with reporters.

A separate order by Little Rock District Judge Lee Munson sealed Vance's jail records, including visitor logs.

http://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/...=78553&catid=2

[lorettalockhorn]

Innocent, says man charged in Pressly case
Media thick, security tight as Vance appears in court

The 28-year-old Marianna man accused of killing Little Rock TV news anchor Anne Pressly pleaded innocent Thursday after arriving in court in a bullet-resistant vest and extra shackles.


Curtis Lavelle Vance, in a blue jail uniform, entered Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza’s courtroom for his arraignment amid a flurry of camera flashes, escorted by three sheriff ’s deputies who threaded him through the crush of reporters, television cameras, spectators and defendants outside.

With 70 cases on the docket, Thursday was Piazza’s busiest day of the week, and the attempt to get Vance through court as quickly as possible was delayed in part by a broken elevator.

His attorney, Lott Rolfe IV, wasn’t in the room when Vance was escorted in just after 10:30 a.m. He was apparently stuck outside in the crowd.

“Mr. Rolfe’s here,” chief deputy prosecutor John Johnson told the judge. “He might not be able to get in.”

Vance used the delay to fill out his application for a public defender, a formality in this case.

As he went to sit down, his mother, 44-year-old Jacqueline Burnett of Little Rock, called out to him.

“I love you, Lavelle,” she yelled, drawing a rebuke from bailiff Fred Hensley for the outburst.

Vance pleaded innocent to charges of capital murder, rape, residential burglary and theft.

He is accused of killing Pressly, a news anchor for KATV, Channel 7, during an October break-in two days before his 28th birthday. He also is accused of stealing her credit card and other items.

Patti Cannady, who found her daughter bloody, beaten and unconscious on Oct. 21, five days before the 26-year-old newscaster died, sat ramrod straight on a court bench. Her only display of emotion was a slight squint of her blue eyes and clench of her jaw as she moved to the edge of her seat to listen to Vance’s attorney address the judge. Pressly’s stepfather, Guy Cannady, seated next to his wife, put his arm around her shoulders, and rubbed and patted her back during the 17-minute hearing.

Questioned by the judge, Rolfe said the defense was considering exploring an insanity plea, with Piazza asking Vance’s attorneys to decide within the next month whether they would seek a mental evaluation by doctors at the State Hospital.

Piazza set a Sept. 19 trial date, but the time required for a mental evaluation could push that back as much as three months. The charges make Vance eligible for the death penalty, but prosecutors didn’t disclose whether they would seek execution and aren’t expected to reveal their decision for some time.

Rolfe asked Piazza to extend a gag order imposed on police and prosecutors last month by a Little Rock district judge, but Piazza declined after studying the defense proposal for several minutes. He encouraged the attorneys to “keep it close to the vest,” saying he would reconsider if the defense had any complaints in the future.

“I’ve just never had a problem with lawyers in this court talking to the press,” Piazza said. “I just don’t think it’s going to be an issue.”

He did agree to keep the police investigation file sealed until the trial but lifted a seal on jail records imposed by a district judge, saying they clearly fell under the state’s Freedom of Information Act.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette filed suit challenging Little Rock District Judge Lee Munson’sDec. 8 ruling sealing the jail records, contending that judges cannot nullify the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act on a whim and that people cannot be jailed without any public disclosure. Given the timing of the circuit court arraignment, the newspaper withdrew its lawsuit on Dec. 29.

Thursday afternoon at the Pulaski County jail, administrators immediately released 22 pages of jail records that had been sought by the Democrat-Gazette. The records show little of note beyond the names of Vance’s family, including his three children, four cousins and two aunts who live in Little Rock.

Records also show that he has a tattoo somewhere on his body that says “Only God can judge me” and that jail authorities have had Vance in a cell by himself out of concern for his safety because of the notoriety of the case.

A defense request to bar cameras from the courtroom will be considered closer to trial, Piazza said. He said he has deliberately kept clear glass in his courtroom door so news photographers can take pictures but always with the understanding that he forbids photographing jurors and witnesses in the courtroom.

“They’ve been very good about following the rules,” Piazza said of the press.

Piazza said he thinks secrecy does more harm than good.

“The more you exclude people, the more they want to see,” he said.

The judge said he was confident that the jurors who decide the case won’t be swayed by what they hear outside the courtroom.

“In my tenure, I’ve been impressed by the jury’s ability to decide the case on the facts, not the publicity,” he said.

With only enough comfortable seating for an audience of 50 or so, Piazza’s courtroom is one of the smallest in the Pulaski County Courthouse, and the close quarters made for some awkward moments, with the Cannady family seated directly in front of Vance’s mother and his two brothers. Also, some of the 20 or so Cannady supporters in the courtroom were squeezed in next to the Vance family during the proceedings.

Johnson, the prosecutor, was speaking quietly to the Cannadys when Vance’s mother leaned forward, apparently to listen, which prompted the Cannadys to change seats, a move that put only about another 4 feet between the families.

Outside the second-floor courtroom, television reporters and photographers moved in a pack. They migrated en masse from the courtroom doors to a hallway where they thought Vance would emerge from a stairwell. Then they moved back to the courtroom’s double doors. Then back to the hallway. Deputies moving Vance had to use the courthouse’s main elevators because the inmate elevator, whichgoes directly to a holding cell in the basement, wasn’t working.

When the hearing was over, reporters and photographers with microphones and cameras thrust toward him followed Vance and his deputy escorts to the elevator. Family members trailed behind, shouting, “We love you. We love you, bro. We love our Curtis.”

The elevator didn’t open right away. A camera light went on, and reporters shouted variations of “Did you do it?” at Vance.

Vance turned and leaned his head closer to a microphone.

“I didn’t do it,” Vance said, adding that he felt sorry for Pressly’s family.

The reporters and photographers pressed closer to hear.

“They got the wrong guy,” he said.

Vance was arrested on Nov. 26, a few blocks from the home of relatives. The only evidence that police have revealed is that his DNA was found at the Pressly crime scene.

He has denied being at Pressly’s home on Club Road in the Heights neighborhood of Little Rock.

Charging papers list 68 witnesses, 39 of them investigators with the police and state Crime Laboratory. Another dozen or so are Pressly’s friends and co-workers.

Among the witnesses are a woman who said she’d seen Vance in the area before and another woman who said she’d seen a car similar to his on the night Pressly was attacked.

Three of the witnesses are from Marianna where police have said Vance is a suspect in the April rape of a teacher. Marianna investigators brought Vance to the attention of Little Rock police after linking him to the woman’s assault through DNA evidence.

This article was published Friday, January 16, 2009.
Arkansas, Pages 11, 14 on 01/16/2009

Video link:

http://www2.arkansasonline.com/videos/2009/jan/15/3411/

http://www2.arkansasonline.com/news/...case-20090116/

[lorettalockhorn]

Judge Leaves Open Plea Prospect for Vance

Little Rock - A judge has left open the possibility of a negotiated plea in the capital murder case against a Marianna man accused of last year's beating death of KATV morning anchor Anne Pressly.

Circuit Judge Chris Piazza said that he wants to take up the possibility of negotiations between the prosecution and defense lawyers for Curtis Lavelle Vance at a June 16th hearing.

Lawyers on both sides refused to comment on the prospects for a plea, however, after a hearing Tuesday in which Vance declined to get a mental evaluation. He has maintained his innocence in the slaying...


http://www.katv.com/news/stories/0209/595645.html

[dan_uk]

Pressly suspect will not have mental evaluation

http://www.fox16.com/news/local/stor...chtNajcBA.cspx

[FDInLaw]

Originally Posted by dan_uk

Pressly suspect will not have mental evaluation

http://www.fox16.com/news/local/stor...chtNajcBA.cspx

This is interesting. Gary Dunn (Nona Dirksmeyer murder) is seeking a medical eval before trial and has pleaded not guilty. I wonder why the difference?

[FDInLaw]

Originally Posted by dan_uk

Pressly suspect will not have mental evaluation

http://www.fox16.com/news/local/stor...chtNajcBA.cspx

Little Rock, AR - - Attorneys for the man accused in the killing of anchorwoman Anne Pressly will forego a mental evaluation before he goes to trial. Curtis Vance is charged with capital murder.

The hearing took place before Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza. Attorneys for Vance, 28, said they are declining to pursue a mental evaluation for Vance. That eliminates any possibility of claiming insanity as a defense.
The courtroom was full and included his mother Jacqueline Vance and Pressly's mother Patti Cannady. Also, Kristen Edwards, the Marianna school teacher that Vance is accused of raping in April 2008, was in the courtroom facing her alleged attacker for the first time. None of the three spoke with reporters after the hearing.

Judge Piazza set a hearing for motions on June 16 and stated that would be the time to announce a plea deal if both parties agreed to it. Pulaski County Prosecutor Larry Jegley said he could not comment on the case because it is on going, however, in past interviews he stated he will listen to the Cannady family to decide what prosecution to pursue. That makes reaching a plea deal in this case remote considering the public statements Pressly's parents have made wanting the most severe punishment possible. Attorneys for Vance had no comment.

But Vance, again, did comment to reporters as he left the courtroom in shackles and a bullet-resistant vest.

When asked if he had anything to say to Pressly's family and friends he did respond.

"Keep praying, and you know, maybe somebody will find somebody," Vance says.

Vance was quieter when asked about his whereabouts in the hours when Pressly was attacked in her Heights home.

>snip<

A pretrial hearing is set for August 18 with a trial date of September 9. Prosecutors have not decided whether they will pursue the death penalty in the case.

[FDInLaw]

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Defense lawyers for a Marianna man accused of beating an Arkansas television anchorwoman to death want to prevent police from using jailhouse informants against their client.

In a motion filed in Pulaski County Circuit Court, public defender Katherine Streett asked a judge to bar police from "attempting to elicit information, evidence or statements" from Curtis Lavelle Vance while in jail. Vance, 28, faces a capital murder charge in the October slaying of Anne Pressly, a morning anchorwoman for Little Rock ABC affiliate KATV.

Streett listed "double-celling" as one way police could get the information -- meaning they would send in a cellmate who would report back on conversations with Vance. Streett also asked Circuit Judge Chris Piazza to bar police from using any "covert" means to gather information from Vance, meaning either audio or video surveillance of his cell at the county jail.

Vance, who remains held without bond, is in a single cell at the jail, said John Rehrauer, a spokesman for the county sheriff's office. Rehrauer said Wednesday the jail has no plans to put another inmate in Vance's cell.

Rehrauer declined to comment about whether police had asked deputies to use jailhouse informants against Vance. Lt. Terry Hastings, a Little Rock police spokesman, did not immediately return a call for comment. . .

http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news...y_Murder_Trial

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by FDInLaw

This is interesting. Gary Dunn (Nona Dirksmeyer murder) is seeking a medical eval before trial and has pleaded not guilty. I wonder why the difference?

I wonder about this also. Just don't add up to me. And I think a they said eval that they are seeking could not be testified to or released? Can they not make anyone doing the medical eval testify? I am lost on this one, he pleaded not guilty like you said. What is the point? Guess time will tell.
Prayers for Carol by everyone please.

[lorettalockhorn]

Pressly-case defense objects to interviews

Defense attorneys for the man accused of killing TV news anchor Anne Pressly are heading for their first courtroom confrontation with prosecutors over police questioning of Curtis Lavelle Vance, court filings show.

The question is, when will the sides cross swords? It might be Tuesday.

Va n c e, 2 8 , of Marianna is set to make his third circuit court appearance at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday before Pulaski County Circuit JudgeChris Piazza for a routine trial-scheduling hearing. His defenders have filed a motion to address investigators’ contacts with police, but it’s not clear whether the judge will hear their arguments at Tuesday’s appearance. The next hearing is in June, with a trial date in September.

The defense motion claims that police have violated their client’s constitutional rights by not allowing them to be present while he’s questioned. Prosecutors counter that police haven’t done anything wrong and that the defense claims don’t have a legal basis.

The two-page defense motion appears to stem from Vance’s most recent meeting with detectives when he met with them for several hours, just a few days after his second court appearance last month. He has spoken with investigators at least one other time since his Nov. 26 arrest, a Dec. 10 interview that has also angered the defense, the filing indicates.

The attorneys, Katherine Streett, Teri Chambers and Lott Rolfe IV, contend investigators have gone out of their way to keep Vance from knowing that his lawyers were trying to speak with him at both the Dec. 10 and February meetings.

They are accusing police of “subterfuge” and violating their client’s constitutional rights by preventing the defense from participating in the interviews, saying investigators have violated a lower-court order in the December interrogation.

They want the judge to bar police from further interviews unless defense attorneys are present and require police to give them at least two hours’ notice before any meeting with their client.

Prosecutors, in their response filed Friday, counter that Vance initiated the December and February meetings with detectives. At those interviews,Vance was read his rights and gave statements, chief deputy prosecutor John Johnson wrote in his three-page response.

He said defense claims that police have violated any court order are “unfair and misleading” because police complied with the now-rescinded court order by notifying the defense as they were required to do.

Police have no obligation to defense attorneys to let them meet with their client once he’s waived his rights in a meeting with police, the prosecution filing states.

“As counsel knows ... law enforcement is under no obligation to allow an attorney access to their client under these circumstances unless the defendant asks for the attorney,” the motion states, calling for Piazza to reject the defense claims.

Vance, at his circuit court hearings, has appeared as interested in talking to the media as his attorneys are interested in preventing it.

Escorted by deputies back to his cell, Vance has on each occasion paused before the TV cameras to speak, taking the opportunity to either proclaim his innocence, complain about how police obtained his DNA or express condolences to Pressly’s family.

If his defenders have a client who wants to talk, there is little the attorneys can do to stop him, says Doug Norwood, a Rogers lawyer who is writing abook on Arkansas criminal law and procedure.

“My take on it is, the Constitution allows a defendant to talk to whoever he wants to,” said Norwood, a criminal-defense attorney for 22 years who regularly speaks on constitutional issues. “He’s not required to take his lawyers’ advice.”

Once Vance invokes his right to have an attorney, Norwood said, police are barred from making any further contact unless the attorney consents.

But if Vance takes the initiative to ask for a meeting with police, there is no law to prevent investigators from questioning him as long as they abide by all court orders and honor his constitutional rights, he said.

“I don’t see any obligation for them not to talk to him,” Norwood said. “If you have a defendant who wants to talk, I know no legal authority that prevents police from listening to what he has to say.”

Vance, who faces charges of capital murder, rape, residential burglary and theft, is accused of raping then fatally beating Pressly during an Octoberbreak-in at her Club Road home in Little Rock’s Heights neighborhood.

The 26-year-old KATV, Channel 7, news anchor was found bloody and unconscious in her bed by her mother and died five days later, never having awakened.

Vance was charged about a month later after Marianna police, who linked him to a rape in that city through DNA, suggested to Little Rock authorities he could be responsible for the attack on Pressly.

He was arrested after Little Rock police matched his genetic material to DNA found at the crime scene; authorities have revealed nothing more. Prosecutors haven’t announcedwhether they will seek the death penalty.

The defense has suggested that authorities might be up to some skullduggery in an earlier court filing, with a request to the judge that investigators be barred from planting an informant in Vance’s cell at the Pulaski County jail where he’s being held in isolation.

The defense also wants to be allowed to keep the identities of any potential expert witnesses concealed from prosecutors until the defense is required to disclose the names for trial. Piazza had intended to take up those issues at the June 16 hearing.

http://www2.arkansasonline.com/news/...riber/national

[lorettalockhorn]

Judge denies defense requests in TV anchor slaying

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A judge has denied several requests by defense lawyers for the man accused of killing an Arkansas television anchorwoman.

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza said Tuesday that Curtis Lavelle Vance does not need a court order banning police from talking to him without attorneys or protecting him from jailhouse informants.

Piazza said Vance is the only person who can make decisions such as whether to waive his constitutional right to remain silent during police interviews.

Vance faces a capital murder charge in the killing of 26-year-old Anne Pressly, a morning anchorwoman for Little Rock television station KATV. She was attacked on Oct. 20 in her home in Little Rock and died several days later.

His trial is set for Sept. 9.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...mlK1AD96VS9902