Curtis Vance Convicted Of Raping And Killing Anne Pressly

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Newswoman Anne Pressly was severely beaten in her home.

On November 11, 2009, a jury convicted Curtis Lavelle Vance of murdering and raping Little Rock anchorwoman Anne Pressly. Two days later, jurors sentenced Vance to life in prison with no chance of parole.

Vance's family members testified that his mother was addicted to crack and physically abused Vance during his childhood.

A defense psychologist claimed that Vance's low IQ score indicated he could be mentally retarded.

The psychologist attempted to further his point by stating that after the killing, Vance exhibited signs of paranoia, thinking the community was out to get him.

However, the defense did acknowledge in cross examination that after the high profile killing and the paranoia that followed, it might have been reasonable that the community was not kindly disposed toward Vance.

Anne's mother, Patti Cannady, gave jurors a heartfelt testimony about her love for her daughter and need for justice. Choking back tears, she described a mother's biggest fear: finding her only daughter raped and beaten to death.

New to a morning anchor job, Patti called Anne with a 3:00 a.m. wake-up call. She was alarmed when her daughter didn't answer her repeated phone calls.

Patti went to Anne's house to check on her, and was horrified to find an unconscious Anne in bed, bleeding. She said the beating was so violent, blood was on the ceiling.

Anne was beaten in the head and chest area, and was in a coma for five days at a local hospital before she died.

On Nov. 26, 2008, police revealed that they were seeking Vance, who lived in Marianna, Ark.

DNA evidence linked Vance to Anne's rape and murder, and cops say Vance raped a woman in his hometown in 2008.

Kristen Edwards, the alleged rape survivor of that incident, took the stand to testify against Vance at Anne's murder trial.
 

TV Anchor's Killer Gets Life In Prison

On Nov. 11, 2009, a jury in Little Rock, Ark.  convicted the man charged with brutally beating, raping and ultimately killing local TV anchor Anne Pressly. Two days later, jurors decided that Vance should spend the rest of his life in prison with no chance of parole.

Prosecutors told the jury that DNA evidence linked Vance to Anne Pressly's murder as well as a rape case in a neighboring town to which he pleaded not guilty.

On Oct. 25, 2008, Anne Pressly, 26, died five days after Vance beat her so bad that her jaw was shattered.  The anchorwoman's mother found her Oct. 20, a half-hour before she was due on KATV's "Daybreak" program, after she didn't answer her daily wake-up call.

The anchorwoman had been beaten severely in the head and upper torso and never regained consciousness. Her parents agreed to donate her organs to others after doctors said it was clear that Pressly would never recover. Six people received donations.

In the weeks that followed Pressly's death, cops worked around the clock to solve the case. They say DNA evidence helped them identify Vance as the suspect and later make an arrest.

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.