Anchorwoman’s parents: Slain anchorwoman was sexually attacked

Parents: Slain anchorwoman was sexually assaulted. News from LITTLE ROCK — The parents of the television anchorwoman who was beaten to death said Monday there is evidence their daughter also was sexually assaulted, and that she broke her hand fighting her attacker.

Five days after a suspect was arrested in the Oct. 20 beating of KATV anchorwoman Anne Pressly, Guy and Patti Cannady said on NBC’s Today that the family still has many questions about the killing.

Guy Cannady said that while the police theory is that Pressly interrupted a random robbery, he isn’t convinced of that.

“Well, it’s just unbelievable that a random robbery like this would involve the brutal slaying of Anne in this way. There just seems to be a lot more to the whole story than just a robbery gone bad,” he said. “I think he could have been a stalker.”

They said there was evidence of sexual assault.
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“This monster stole my daughter’s innocence,” Patti Cannady said. “He took her life. He took her identity. He took our lives. Our lives have radically changed as a result of what’s happened to Anne.”

Police have refused to answer questions about whether the anchorwoman was sexually assaulted. Police spokesman Lt. Terry Hastings did not return telephone calls Monday seeking comment on the arrest report.

The suspect, Curtis Lavelle Vance, was linked to the slaying via DNA evidence. Vance has been charged with capital murder and is being held without bail. He also is accused of raping an east Arkansas school teacher in April.

BACKGROUND: Ark. anchorwoman dies in hospital after beating

Police detective Tommy Hudson wrote in an affidavit filed Monday that Pressly died after suffering “blunt force trauma” during the attack. He wrote that Vance denied being in Little Rock the day of the attack and allowed detectives to swab a DNA sample from his saliva.

“It was confirmed with all scientific certainty that Mr. Vance is the DNA contributor of the suspect in Ms. Pressly’s murder,” the affidavit reads.

The affidavit shows police believe several items belonging to Pressly were taken.

In Marianna, police Sgt. Carl McCree said Vance is a suspect in several burglaries in the eastern Arkansas city about 90 miles from Little Rock. He said Vance became a suspect in the burglaries after his girlfriend allegedly sold stolen items to a pawn shop. She faces theft charges.

Pressly worked as a morning anchorwoman and had a small role as a conservative commentator in the Oliver Stone movie W. She lived alone in the city’s Pulaski Heights section, a mix of mansions and bungalows near a country club.

Patti Cannady, visiting from out of town, went to her daughter’s Little Rock home because she didn’t answer a wake-up call and found the 26-year-old woman had been beaten beyond recognition. Every bone in her face had been broken, Cannady said.

“Her jaw, pulverized so badly that the bone had come out of it,” she said. “I actually thought that her throat, it possibly been cut, but that was possibly the first knockout punch. Her entire skull had numerous fractures from which she suffered a massive stroke.”

Pressly died in a hospital five days later without regaining consciousness. Her left hand was broken, her mother said.

“She fought for her life, she fought her attacker,” Patti Cannady said.

Guy Cannady said they had mixed feelings about Vance’s arrest.

“Obviously, good news for us, but bittersweet,” he said, adding that the next part of the ordeal will be the trial.

The following are just comments, not from the author. Please leave your views afterwards:

I lived and worked in the building where Anne lived for several years. Her whole approach to people in this life was with nothing but respect and simple kindnesses, which seem to be all but gone in this time. As I wrote on another board recently, the best compliment I could honor Anne with is that she was one of those souls who had the ability to make alot of good people become better people. I don’t know what’s been set loose in this country that makes someone want to commit acts like this. I don’t know what good comes–from either side–from this emphasis on the racial component. All I know I want is to see every rebellious soul in America (white or black or brown) who does these things held accountable, and more adults held accountable now for what they’re doing with their parental or leadership responsibilities, before kids grow into adults with this disrespect for life. If not, the state will have to. And if the state refuses to handle these perps, either unsavory types will turn to vigilante tactics or the perps will get early release for keeping their toilets clean and go out and carry out this kind of violence on another innocent human being. Either way it will lead to civil disorder and social upheaval that no one in ANYONE will want to see in their neighborhoods. We should all work towards this, if not publicly at least privately in our own sphere of influence. God help us now more than ever!

Where is the outrage on the site for the murders of Jennifer Hudson’s family members?

Monsters are those who continue to call for torture, lynching, etc. What makes you monsters different from the monster that committed this horrible crime? And the number of racist comments are scary! Some of you need to look in the mirror to see the monsters. Maybe you didn’t break into someone’s home to commit a crime, but if you call for a crime to punish a crime, you are a monster.

Why isn’t this being investigated as a “hate crime”? If the racial identities were reversed, there would be marches in the streets and ol Jesse and Al would be right up front with all of the cameras. I guess they are just too busy preparing all of the money reparations demands from Congress for all of the Blacks in the US who are descendants of former slaves more than 150 years ago, and still feel victimized by ancient history.

The reason there are no marches and hate filled racist speeches for the evening news in this case is because most Whites know the whole concept of hate crimes is totally bogus….and merely a bone thrown by our cowardly elected officials and criminal justice system to the radical leftists of all races.

And hey…everyone knows….well…at least everyone in the media knows….. and they after all are the opinion makers in the US, that the only racists in the US are Whites and therefore the only way a hate crime can be committed is when a White is the perp and a Black or a homosexual is the victim. Right?

Up is down, left is right, the sun rises in the west and sets in the east and “truth is whatever I say it is…nothing more nothing less.” (Alice in Wonderland). By the way, White on Black violent crime, especially homicide, is a statistically insignificant number of occurrences compared to the total number of violent crimes committed in the US. But unfortunately, in this crazy politically correct country called the USA, very little makes much sense anymore. Welcome to Oz, my friends.

Why Blacks Suck
I don’t hate blacks and this blog is not about hate. But if you are disturbed by this, you should be. The main obstacle to racial harmony is black blame-shifting, to get Whites to throw money at their problems. When will we stop discriminating against ourselves and throwing our money into the sinkhole of black uplift? Blacks are the same the world over and won’t change until they get responsible. See the larger pattern and face the truth.
As we long suspected, he is black. I normally include pictures for my articles, but I don’t even want to look at his disgusting face. Unless to see him being executed. I would pay to watch that, and volunteer to take part.

Former KATV anchorwoman Anne Pressly, shown here in June, died Oct. 25 following an attack in her home. Her parents said in an interview Monday that evidence shows Pressly was sexually assaulted. Enlarge image Enlarge  By KATV Television via AP
Former KATV anchorwoman Anne Pressly, shown here in June, died Oct. 25 following an attack in her home. Her parents said in an interview Monday that evidence shows Pressly was sexually assaulted.

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BACKGROUND: Ark. anchorwoman dies in hospital after beating

Police detective Tommy Hudson wrote in an affidavit filed Monday that Pressly died after suffering “blunt force trauma” during the attack. He wrote that Vance denied being in Little Rock the day of the attack and allowed detectives to swab a DNA sample from his saliva.

“It was confirmed with all scientific certainty that Mr. Vance is the DNA contributor of the suspect in Ms. Pressly’s murder,” the affidavit reads.

The affidavit shows police believe several items belonging to Pressly were taken.

In Marianna, police Sgt. Carl McCree said Vance is a suspect in several burglaries in the eastern Arkansas city about 90 miles from Little Rock. He said Vance became a suspect in the burglaries after his girlfriend allegedly sold stolen items to a pawn shop. She faces theft charges.

Pressly worked as a morning anchorwoman and had a small role as a conservative commentator in the Oliver Stone movie W. She lived alone in the city’s Pulaski Heights section, a mix of mansions and bungalows near a country club.

Patti Cannady, visiting from out of town, went to her daughter’s Little Rock home because she didn’t answer a wake-up call and found the 26-year-old woman had been beaten beyond recognition. Every bone in her face had been broken, Cannady said.

“Her jaw, pulverized so badly that the bone had come out of it,” she said. “I actually thought that her throat, it possibly been cut, but that was possibly the first knockout punch. Her entire skull had numerous fractures from which she suffered a massive stroke.”

Pressly died in a hospital five days later without regaining consciousness. Her left hand was broken, her mother said.

“She fought for her life, she fought her attacker,” Patti Cannady said.

Guy Cannady said they had mixed feelings about Vance’s arrest.

“Obviously, good news for us, but bittersweet,” he said, adding that the next part of the ordeal will be the trial.
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surelikeyeah wrote: 1h 29m ago
I lived and worked in the building where Anne lived for several years. Her whole approach to people in this life was with nothing but respect and simple kindnesses, which seem to be all but gone in this time. As I wrote on another board recently, the best compliment I could honor Anne with is that she was one of those souls who had the ability to make alot of good people become better people. I don’t know what’s been set loose in this country that makes someone want to commit acts like this. I don’t know what good comes–from either side–from this emphasis on the racial component. All I know I want is to see every rebellious soul in America (white or black or brown) who does these things held accountable, and more adults held accountable now for what they’re doing with their parental or leadership responsibilities, before kids grow into adults with this disrespect for life. If not, the state will have to. And if the state refuses to handle these perps, either unsavory types will turn to vigilante tactics or the perps will get early release for keeping their toilets clean and go out and carry out this kind of violence on another innocent human being. Either way it will lead to civil disorder and social upheaval that no one in ANYONE will want to see in their neighborhoods. We should all work towards this, if not publicly at least privately in our own sphere of influence. God help us now more than ever!

Recommend   | Report Abuse
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sasha59 wrote: 1h 41m ago
Where is the outrage on the site for the murders of Jennifer Hudson’s family members?

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sasha59 wrote: 1h 43m ago
I agree with TaxMax. A lot of idiots commenting here.

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sasha59 wrote: 1h 45m ago
Monsters are those who continue to call for torture, lynching, etc. What makes you monsters different from the monster that committed this horrible crime? And the number of racist comments are scary! Some of you need to look in the mirror to see the monsters. Maybe you didn’t break into someone’s home to commit a crime, but if you call for a crime to punish a crime, you are a monster.

Recommend   | Report Abuse
User Image
WorldNomad wrote: 1h 58m ago
Why isn’t this being investigated as a “hate crime”? If the racial identities were reversed, there would be marches in the streets and ol Jesse and Al would be right up front with all of the cameras. I guess they are just too busy preparing all of the money reparations demands from Congress for all of the Blacks in the US who are descendants of former slaves more than 150 years ago, and still feel victimized by ancient history.

The reason there are no marches and hate filled racist speeches for the evening news in this case is because most Whites know the whole concept of hate crimes is totally bogus….and merely a bone thrown by our cowardly elected officials and criminal justice system to the radical leftists of all races.

And hey…everyone knows….well…at least everyone in the media knows….. and they after all are the opinion makers in the US, that the only racists in the US are Whites and therefore the only way a hate crime can be committed is when a White is the perp and a Black or a homosexual is the victim. Right?

Up is down, left is right, the sun rises in the west and sets in the east and “truth is whatever I say it is…nothing more nothing less.” (Alice in Wonderland). By the way, White on Black violent crime, especially homicide, is a statistically insignificant number of occurrences compared to the total number of violent crimes committed in the US. But unfortunately, in this crazy politically correct country called the USA, very little makes much sense anymore. Welcome to Oz, my friends.

Recommend 1 | Report Abuse
User Image
fritolaygrl wrote: 2h 3m ago
Why Blacks Suck
I don’t hate blacks and this blog is not about hate. But if you are disturbed by this, you should be. The main obstacle to racial harmony is black blame-shifting, to get Whites to throw money at their problems. When will we stop discriminating against ourselves and throwing our money into the sinkhole of black uplift? Blacks are the same the world over and won’t change until they get responsible. See the larger pattern and face the truth.
As we long suspected, he is black. I normally include pictures for my articles, but I don’t even want to look at his disgusting face. Unless to see him being executed. I would pay to watch that, and volunteer to take part.

Recommend 3 | Report Abuse
User Image
fritolaygrl wrote: 2h 12m ago
First, I wish the family the best and my prayers..
As we long suspected, he is black. I normally include pictures for my articles, but I don’t even want to look at his disgusting face. Unless to see him being executed. I would pay to watch that, and volunteer to take part.

Notice in the story, just like the Baseline Rapist/Killer in Arizona, this guy had a woman at home, along with kids. The moral of the story, these sick @!$%#ers live among us, passing themselves off as good citizens. They pass among us all the time. Never let your guard down, not for a minute.

Anne Pressly, 26, died Oct. 25, five days after being severely beaten in the head and upper torso in her home. The anchorwoman’s mother found her a half-hour before she was due on KATV’s “Daybreak” program, after she didn’t answer her daily wake-up call. She never regained consciousness.

Curtis Lavelle Vance, 28, fled his Marianna home Wednesday with a 25-year-old woman and three children under age 5, Little Rock Police Chief Stuart Thomas said. Detective Mat Nelson said late Wednesday that Vance had been arrested but he had no details. Police spokesman Lt. Terry Hastings said Vance knew officers had been seeking him. Thomas said before the arrest that Vance was believed to be armed with a 9mm pistol and “a lot of extra ammunition.”

Thomas said at a late-evening news conference that the capital murder charge against Vance was based on “a very, very solid case due to solid detective work.” He offered no details

Judging from the comments, it is quite difficult to tell who the real monsters are.

The attacker should be begging for a life sentence in protective segregation. This fellow could end up being the first person lynched in a long time.

Each of you can argue the politics….all I know is that regardless of race, gender, religion…no human being deserves to be treated like this. No parent should ever have to find their child like this. The only ones lower, more despicable than this monster, are the ones who will fight to keep him from being put to death. I vote to tie a pink tutu around his naked aaasss…coat him with vaseline…toss him in gen pop at a local prison…and let them beat the living sheeeitt out if him till he is dead. But hey, that’s just me.

Did this “Alleged” attacker have a history of sexual or violent behavior?

Sounds like a death penalty case to me. I hope it’s an option for the prosecution.

Absolutely disgusting. This poor woman had to endure such a violent crime and then be killed.
My prayers are with her family. I hope they catch all the killers. Thank God for DNA. Death penalty works for me.

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