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News Anchor And Bit "W" Actress Viciously Attacked, Police Seek Motive

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Penny
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« on: October 21, 2008, 04:39:26 pm »

News Anchor And Bit "W" Actress Viciously Attacked, Police Seek Motive
CHUCK BARTELS | October 21, 2008 08:09 AM EST | 



 
In this photo released by KATV Television Monday, Oct. 20, 2008, news anchor Anne Pressly, 26, is shown in a June 26, 2008, photo in Little Rock, Ark. Pressly, 26, a popular TV anchorwoman remained in critical condition Monday after she was stabbed and beaten in her home, for reasons not yet known. (AP Photo/KATV Television)


LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Anne Pressly's personality made her a hit with television viewers. Now, police want to know whether her celebrity made her a target.
The popular KATV anchorwoman, who had a small part in the new Bush biopic "W," was in critical but stable condition Tuesday after a severe beating in her home. Investigators aren't sure whether she was the random victim of a home invasion or a target because of her high-profile job.
"(It) is possible that it is something other than robbery," police spokeswoman Cassandra Davis said. "Our detectives are talking with co-workers because she was a public figure, because she was on the news, in the media."
Pressly, 26, was found Monday a half-hour before she was due on the set of "Daybreak," a morning mix of news and features on Little Rock's ABC affiliate. Her mother discovered the anchorwoman battered and bloodied after she didn't answer a wake-up call.
Pressly was in her bed, unresponsive and bleeding from her head. Davis described the injuries as "severe wounds" and said Pressly had been stabbed. KATV, citing investigators, said her injuries were from blunt force trauma to the head and upper body.
Pressly's purse was missing, and police said she may have been beaten during a robbery, though there was no sign of forced entry into her home. Asked whether Pressly may have been targeted because of her job, Davis said officers were talking to station employees to determine whether Pressly "has had any problems." Davis would not discuss specifics.
In a statement, KATV president and general manager Dale Nicholson said the anchorwoman "is a person who simply lights up the room, by just walking in.
"The KATV family is having to deal with a personal crisis in our lives with the senseless brutality last night to one of our Daybreak anchors, Anne Pressly," Nicholson said Monday. "I know her viewers will join her family as well as the KATV family in praying for a speedy recovery for Anne, who means so much to all of our staff."
The last known contact with Pressly was between 9:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Sunday.
A friend and colleague at KARK-TV, Mallory Hardin, said she had dinner with Pressly that night, then later went to see "W" with other friends. Hardin said she and Pressly exchanged text messages about the film afterward and that nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Pressly sent her a "bubbly, wonderful text," Hardin told NBC's "Today" show on Tuesday. She said news of her friend's attack was surreal.
"If there's one person that doesn't have an enemy, it is Anne Pressly," Hardin said. "She's wonderful to everybody. She's the most loving girl that anyone could ever meet."
Police said Pressly's mother, Patricia Cannady, regularly gives her daughter a wake-up call and went to her home Monday when Pressly didn't answer. A man who answered Cannady's phone said the family had no comment.
Pressly won a small role in the new Oliver Stone movie after traveling to Shreveport, La. _ where much of the movie was filmed _ to work on a story on the region's film industry. The movie's casting director noticed her and cast her to appear as a conservative commentator who speaks favorably of Bush's "Mission Accomplished" event on an aircraft carrier shortly after the start of the Iraq war.
Kate Hubin, a spokeswoman for the film company Lionsgate, confirmed Pressly's role but declined further comment.
KATV's Web site notes that Pressly's most notable interview was with Vice President Dick Cheney. Traveling through an Arkansas town, the anchorwoman found the highway blocked in front of a hunting goods store because Cheney was inside. Pressly asked for an interview, which she conducted in the ammunition aisle.
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Jenna Bluehut
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« Reply #1 on: October 26, 2008, 05:00:43 am »

Update: Arkansas Anchorwoman Dies In Hospital After Brutal Beating
 JON GAMBRELL |
 October 25, 2008 11:47 PM EST | 




In this photo released by KATV Television Monday, Oct. 20, 2008, news anchor Anne Pressly, 26, is shown in a June 26, 2008, photo in Little Rock, Ark. Pressly, 26, a popular TV anchorwoman remained in critical condition Monday after she was stabbed and beaten in her home, for reasons not yet known. (AP Photo/KATV Television)


LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas television anchorwoman died Saturday, several days after she didn't answer her wake-up call and was found beaten in her home, 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.

"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."

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.

The anchor's death came only a day after a doctor said he was encouraged that her vital signs were stable while she remained in critical condition. Dr. Clifton R. Johnson told reporters Friday that swelling in Pressly's brain had gone down since being hospitalized and that doctors had slowly been reducing her sedative dosages.

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.

Police have yet to identify a suspect, though detectives have combed the area around Pressly's home in the Heights neighborhood _ a mix of bungalows and mansions near the Little Rock Country Club. News reports have said detectives found evidence that Pressly's credit card was used Monday at a gas station a few miles from her home.



Sgt. Cassandra Davis, a police spokeswoman, has said investigators suspect Pressly was the victim of a random attack. Davis did not return a call for comment Saturday night.

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.

She 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.

On Saturday, KATV opened its nightly news cast with a seven-minute segment devoted to Pressly. Anchor Pamela Smith told viewers that Pressly's family agreed to have their daughter be an organ donor. Smith's voice hitched as she read condolences sent into the station, her eyes red.

"She owned every room she was in, not because she demanded our attention, but because we willingly gave it to her," Smith said. "We all felt a little better, a little more alive just being near her.

"Life was easy for Anne Pressly. But it is her death that is so very hard for all of us."

No funeral arrangements were immediately announced.
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