Curtis Lavell Vance Guilty of the rape, beating and murder of Anne Pressly, Little Rock TV Anchor

November 12, 2009

cnn.com

(CNN) -- After deliberating slightly more than two hours, a jury November 12, found a man guilty of capital murder and other charges in the October 2008 death of Arkansas television anchor Anne Pressly, according to CNN affiliate KARK-TV.

Curtis Lavelle Vance, 29, was convicted of capital murder, residential burglary, rape and theft of property, the station reported. A sentencing phase will determine whether he receives life in prison or the death penalty...

Vance had given several statements to police, including one saying he was at Pressly's home and another admitting to her murder...KARK reported that jurors heard recordings in which Vance apparently confessed to beating Pressly with a piece of wood...

Vance showed little reaction as the verdict was read...

Read article here

also read:

Jury chooses life sentence in TV anchor killing - Crime & courts ...

Curtis Lavelle Vance Gets Life Without Parole for Anne Pressly murder

Many Questions Despite Arrest in Murder of TV Anchorwoman

Right: Anne Pressly

Thursday, November 27, 2008

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, said Lt. Terry Hastings, a police spokesman.

Left: Curtis Lavelle Vance

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.

Investigators interviewed Vance late Wednesday and early Thursday morning, Hastings said.

Click here for photos.

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. Thomas said only that the capital murder charge was based on "a very, very solid case due to solid detective work."

Hastings 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.

Hastings said Thursday that police would not disclose how they obtained DNA to match to a possible suspect, adding "We're going to be very tightlipped on this case, pretrial."

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 her daughter 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.

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.

Hastings said he did not know if Vance had an attorney. He said a public defender would likely be appointed to the case.

Vance was being held Thursday at the Pulaski County Jail, awaiting a Friday morning arraignment.

Anne Pressly's parents say daughter couldn't respond when asked who beat her

By Associated Press
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.

.

Pressly attended Rhodes College in Memphis and had previously worked as a reporter at WBBJ-TV in Jackson, Tenn., before taking a job in Little Rock. Patti Cannady was visiting Little Rock on Oct. 20 and drove to her daughter's home when Pressly didn't answer her customary wake-up call.

She said the sight of her battered daughter was the "most shocking thing" anyone could ever see. She says she asked Pressly who had done this to her, but her daughter could not answer.

Anne Pressly, TV Anchor's Credit Card Used at Gas Station After Attack

The credit card of a television anchor woman left in critical condition after a brutal beating in her home was used in the minutes following the attack.

Anne Pressly's credit card was used at a Shell gas station near her Little Rock, Ark., home between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Monday morning, an attendant told America's Most Wanted.

Shell station clerk Shiva Reddy told FOX16.com that police did visit the station at Interstate 30 and 9th Street on Tuesday to request surveillance video from early Monday morning, in the hours around the time Pressly was brutally beaten.

"They just got the video," Reddy told FOX16.com.
Police returned on Wednesday afternoon to take photos and collect evidence, the station said. FOX16.com decided to wait 24 hours before reporting the new information to assist police with their case, the station said.

Another Shell employee told FOX16.com that the security cameras "are everywhere" at the station.

Meanwhile, Sgt. Cassandra Davis said Pressly's medical condition still stops investigators from asking who attacked her and what happened at her home.

Davis said investigators have "no idea when we'll be able to talk to her."

Pressly's mother found the anchor with Little Rock ABC affiliate KATV battered and bleeding early Monday morning in bed at her home.

Her family issued a statement Thursday saying that the 26-year-old was still in critical condition but was listed as stable.

"The swelling in her brain is beginning to subside," the statement said. "Doctors are encouraged by her progress at this point."

Detectives continue to search for the blunt object used to beat Pressly around her head and upper body. The sergeant declined to discuss what evidence officers recovered from Pressly's home or in searches of her neighborhood near the Little Rock Country Club.

Click here for more from America's Most Wanted.

TV Anchor Attacked at Her Home Dies From Injuries

Little Rock, Arkansas

Anne Pressly

An Arkansas television anchorwoman died Saturday, several days after being found beaten in her home when she didn't answer her wake-up call, hospital officials said.

Anne Pressly, 26, died at St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Margaret Preston said.
In a statement released by the hospital, Pressly's parents Guy and Patti Cannady asked for privacy as they grieved their daughter's death.

"It was our hope, as was yours, that Anne would overcome the injuries inflicted upon her in the brutal attack at her home," the statement read. "We were with her in her last moments, and although our hearts are broken, we are at the same time comforted by our faith knowing that Anne is now with our heavenly father."

Click here for photos.

Pressly was beaten around the head, face and neck. She had been unable to communicate with her family or police while being kept sedated in the intensive care unit.
She was discovered Monday morning a half-hour before she was to appear on ABC affiliate KATV's "Daybreak" program. Her mother went to her home after she didn't answer her regular wake-up call.

Little Rock police have yet to identify a suspect.

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

Pressly had a small role in the new Oliver Stone movie "W.," which was filmed in Shreveport, La. She appears briefly as a conservative commentator who speaks favorably of President Bush's "Mission Accomplished" event on an aircraft carrier shortly after the start of the Iraq war.

Anne Pressly Family Statement: 10/23/08

Little Rock - Anne's family released an update on her condition Thursday afternoon:

"Anne had a good night, she’s still in critical condition but signs are stable. The swelling in her brain is beginning to subside. Doctors are encouraged by her progress at this point. It is still too early too determine the full extent of her injuries. The family continues to seek your prayers and appreciates your continued consideration of the request for privacy."

--The Family of Anne Pressly

Anne Pressly Bio

Anne Pressly has had more job titles than she can count at KATV, but the one she loves most is Reporter. In her years at Channel Seven, Anne has covered everything from former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee’s run for the White House to Toad Suck Daze in Conway. She has traveled to farthest corners of the Natural State, and has interviewed such notables as Bill Clinton, Maya Angelou, and Alberto Gonzalez.

One of her most memorable interviews happened by chance. On the return trip from a news story in Humphrey, Arkansas, the highway was blocked in front of waterfowl outfitter Mack’s Prairie Wings in Stuttgart. Turns out, Vice President Dick Cheney was inside shopping. He allowed Anne to interview him while he was on the ammo aisle. Cheney told Channel Seven he loves Arkansas. Not as much as Anne does.

A native of Greenville, South Carolina, Anne moved to Little Rock with her family while in high school. It was during college that she first worked at Channel Seven. After being passed over by KATV for a Production Assistant job in favor of someone with actual television experience, Channel Seven hired Anne as a temporary News Secretary and Archivist the summer after her Sophomore year. (Anne secretly believes the station must have been pretty desperate to fill this position. At the time, her primary selling point was that she could start immediately.) The following winter break, the station needed a Production Assistant, so Anne filled-in. (She had some experience under her belt by now!) Anne was also able to earn some college credit hours by field producing for the station during her Junior and Senior years.

After earning her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Rhodes College in Memphis, Anne was hired as a full-time producer and part-time reporter at Channel Seven in May 2004, producing “Good Morning Arkansas” and reporting for “MidDay Arkansas” and “Saturday Daybreak.” Anne was promoted to full-time General Assignment Reporter in November 2004.

When she’s not working, you can find Anne trying out new restaurants all over the state, attempting gardening, and walking her Cocker Spaniels, Clementine and Daisy. Soon, you’ll be able to catch her on the Silver Screen. Another chance encounter while on a story--this one, with a casting director--helped Anne land a small role in Oliver Stone’s film “W.”

US TV anchorwoman Anne Pressly found badly beaten at home

October 21, 2008
timesonline Chris Ayres,
Little Rock Arkansas


A blonde television news anchor who had a cameo role in Oliver Stone’s new George Bush biopic W. has been found beaten almost to death in her Arkansas home — only hours after going to the cinema to see the film for the first time. Detectives say that they are baffled by the motive for the attack.

Anne Pressly, 26, a popular face to viewers of KATV in Bill Clinton’s home state, was last night described as being in a critical but stable condition, although her prospects for a full recovery remain unclear.

Detectives are trying to establish if Ms Pressly was the target of a random home invasion robbery — a source of much dread to many Americans after a few recent high-profile cases — or a specific attack by either a stalker, a fellow filmgoer, or someone who knows her.


In W. — a highly satirical take on George Bush’s life and presidency by one of America’s most liberal film-makers — Ms Pressly plays a conservative TV commentator who praises the US leader’s infamously premature “Mission Accomplished” speech, delivered on an aircraft carrier after the invasion of Iraq.

“[It] is possible that it is something other than robbery,” said Cassandra Davis, a police spokeswoman.

Ms Pressly’s bloodied and unconscious body was found by her mother at 4.30am on Monday, 30 minutes before she was due on the set of Daybreak, a morning TV show on the ABC network’s affiliate station in Little Rock.

The news anchor, who had failed to respond to one of her mother’s routine wake-up calls, was still bleeding badly from her head. Her handbag was missing. The police initially said that Ms Pressly had been stabbed and had suffered “severe wounds”. It was later established that the 26-year-old’s injuries were inflicted by a blunt object to the head and upper body.

The night before the attack, Ms Pressly had dined at a restaurant with a friend, Mallory Hardin, before going to see W. with other friends. Later she exchanged text messages with Ms Hardin, saying that she was delighted with her brief performance. “If there’s one person that doesn’t have an enemy, it is Anne Pressly,” Ms Hardin told NBC’s Today show.

Ms Pressly won her role W. after travelling to Shreveport, Louisiana — where much of the film was being shot — to work on a story about the region’s thriving film industry. Stone’s casting director noticed her, and offered her a walk-on part.

According to KATV, Ms Pressly’s most notable journalistic achievement was an interview with Vice President Dick Cheney — also satirised by Stone’s W. The interview also happened by chance.