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

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Police investigating the attack on a popular TV anchorwoman say they've found no evidence to suggest she was targeted because of her high-profile job.

Anne Pressly, 26, was in critical but stable condition Tuesday. Police had said Monday that she suffered severe trauma to her head and had life-threatening injuries, but she has improved since then. Her family said she eventually would recover.

Investigators are talking with her co-workers and friends and have considered whether a stalker or someone in the news recently may have beaten the KATV anchorwoman, but police Sgt. Cassandra Davis said there was no evidence of that.

"Right now, it's being treated as a random incident," Davis said. "It's unfortunate that it was Ms. Pressly, a news reporter, someone that's visible in the community. With what we have, we can only treat it as a random attack, that being a robbery."

Detectives have not yet been able to talk with Pressly. Her purse was missing and a burglary was one possibility, but there was no sign of forced entry into the home. Investigators were not sure of a motive, and Davis said police haven't received many tips.

Pressly's home is in the Heights neighborhood _ a mix of bungalows and mansions near the Little Rock Country Club. Her mother found her unresponsive in bed after going to Pressly's home because she didn't answer a wake-up call. She was found a half-hour before she was to appear on the ABC affiliate's "Daybreak" program.

Pressly had a small role in the Oliver Stone movie "W," which opened Friday. She appeared as a conservative commentator who speaks favorably of President Bush's "Mission Accomplished" event on an aircraft carrier early in the Iraq war.

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Associated Press writers Chuck Bartels and Jon Gambrell contributed to this report.

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On the Net:

http://www.katv.com/

Comments

[wmafoune]

12:19 PM on 10/23/2008

God, please be save her.

[castlerider]

11:25 AM on 10/22/2008

So what's the update, how is she now?

My family and I have been praying for her.

[decal]

09:29 PM on 10/23/2008

According to a statement from her family, the brain swelling has subsided and things look encouraging at this point (although she is still listed in critical condition). Earlier today, there was a report that police have requested security tapes from a gas station where her credi

[decal]

09:57 PM on 10/23/2008

According to a statement from her family, the brain swelling has subsided and things look encouraging at this point (although she is still listed in critical condition). Earlier today, there was a report that police have requested security tapes from a gas station where her credit card was used the night of the attack.

[sarimn00]

07:13 PM on 10/21/2008

This is so sad. I hope they are able to find the person that did it soon.

[redsongia]

06:01 PM on 10/21/2008

Wasn't she on the Fox network, beating up on Tucker bounds that week that Palin was unveiled? If that was her, she was great. I remember being shocked that such a straight shooter was doing an interview on Fox.

[dubster]

05:59 PM on 10/21/2008

OH GOSH! Please people! Certainly this is unfortunate, really it is. However, I can't help but wonder if this is another component of the medias missing girl syndrome where they devote TOO many hours on a WHITE, ATTRACTIVE, YOUNG, probably WEALTHY FEMALE. If this young, blond, attractive, women were a black female anchor or Latina anchor, I wonder if this brouhaha would be so evident. Or if there would even be a brouhaha. The rhetoric would certainly be much more mitigated or opposite entirely, I suspect, unfortunately. Nevertheless, I hope this women gets well soon despite my misgivings about this being real news.

[Salz08]

10:54 PM on 10/21/2008

This happened in Little Rock, AR. A small city by most standards. It is the second high profile and extremely disturbing violent crime there in recent months. It was scarcely more than 2 months ago that AR Democratic Party chair Bill Gwatney was attacked and killed at the party headquarters.

Maybe it's not uncommon for people with high profile positions such as news caster or party chair to be attacked or murdered where you live, but I assure you, it is very uncommon here. I sincerely doubt it had anything to do with the color of her skin that it has garnered this much attention, and I also doubt she is wealthy on the pay of an early morning newscaster in a market of this size.

[dubster]

04:01 AM on 10/22/2008

Listen, it's uncommon in my town/city too. This is indeed serious but my comments were certianly warranted. If you knew a little bit about the MWWS - Missing White Woman Syndrome you would understand the content of my remarks. I agree with you that she is probably not wealthy, I concede that that is an inconsequential variable. However the other factors were ineed relevant i.e race, prettiness, and age. I can assure that if she were not a bouyoant, young, blonde, white, and female there would have been very little coverage of this horrific crime. Granted I know she wasn't a missing woman but the correlation is very similar. Here is a link so that you can understand what I'm saying. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_white_woman_syndrome

[FOXYLADY]

05:44 PM on 10/21/2008

I WONDER IF ANYBODY THOUGHT ABOUT THIS WOMAN BEING ATTACKED BECAUSE OF HER CONNECTION TO HER 'SMALL BIT' IN THE "W" MOVIE? YOU NEVER KNOW................................

[Mabo]

06:00 PM on 10/21/2008

Too bad this was already in this thread THIS MORNING. Hmm...I wonder if anyone thought about it...lol.

A great leap to assume that. Shows how indoctrinated you liberals are about republicans.

[RadLeftVetPatriot]

07:42 PM on 10/21/2008

Indoctrinated? By whom?

[protagonia]

08:54 PM on 10/21/2008

Mabo

Too bad this was already in this thread THIS MORNING. Hmm...I wonder if anyone thought about it...lol.

A great leap to assume that. Shows how indoctrinated you liberals are about republicans.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A woman just got beat up. There is no LOL for that, unless you are emotionally ill.

"Great leap"? If you were a Crime Scene Specialist, you would have to hand in your badge for missing established patterns.

[HRHuffnstuff]

05:22 PM on 10/21/2008

To me right now the probability is it's a random crime which is what happen when the economy goes bust. Crime rises. I hope she pulls through both physically and emotionally. I hope the person who did this is caught soon. My heart and prayers are with her, her family and friends.

[ciarrai3]

04:45 PM on 10/21/2008

I think we ought to start public executions of those who commit these types of crimes.

[drvck70]

05:16 PM on 10/21/2008

Woot!

[TheHandyman]

06:13 PM on 10/21/2008

Yes, that has worked so well over the course of history. Did public hanging stop crime in the US? Have public beheadings stopped crime in Saudia Arabia or other middle eastern counyries? What you have identified yourself as is a barbarian. Civilized people don't believe things like that!

[RobinSeattle]

04:18 PM on 10/21/2008

This has all the earmarks of a political hit by some wingnut Freeper acolyte of Coulter/the flying monkey right, but there just isn't enough information to say that for sure. I hope she recovers and the perpetrator is caught and put away for several decades for attempted murder and home invasion robbery.

[FOXYLADY]

05:45 PM on 10/21/2008

HEY, JUST ABOUT WHAT I POSTED .... YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT 'GREAT MINDS"??

[Mabo]

06:01 PM on 10/21/2008

Do "great minds" post things that were said in the same thread the DAY BEFORE and still claim to be a "great mind".

It just shows that you aren't the only nut job out there that will jump to that conclusion.

[ringmaster]

04:08 PM on 10/21/2008

She's not the first cast member of " W" to be attacked in the South.

[DontBeFoolish]

03:45 PM on 10/21/2008

Either the Boyfreind, Fiance or Husband did it.

[TheHandyman]

06:15 PM on 10/21/2008

Are you sure that it wasn't the Butler?

[JL-PICARD]

03:43 PM on 10/21/2008

Repugs are trying to blame it on a liberal because she played a conservative in the movie. Maybe a conservative did it because she was in this movie which conservatives hate.

[FOXYLADY]

05:45 PM on 10/21/2008

MY THOUGHT EXACTLY JL

[Mabo]

06:02 PM on 10/21/2008

Republicans are smart enough to not jump to outlandish conclusions.

[RadLeftVetPatriot]

07:44 PM on 10/21/2008

Right.

[jesuslovesObama]

03:29 AM on 10/22/2008

Oh that's rich. BTW, did you hear what Palin said about the VP's duties yesterday?

[plknightb]

03:28 PM on 10/21/2008

Totally cowardly!!!

[AlienRep]

03:25 PM on 10/21/2008

today friends@foxnews incinuated by posing it as a question. they basically said that the woman played a roll in a conservative movie and thought that this may be the other reason beside a robbery for this attack incinuating maybe a democrat did this.. this before even a official report given. It goes to show you the down right nasty dirty people fox news are. for the worst in news reporting with inaccurate facts they are the official box of rocks. they can't even accurately tell you the amount of people which defines a small business. one bs lie after another. I swear for my morning cup of stupid I check in FOX then head over to msnbc to get the real angle.

[wherriott2]

03:47 PM on 10/21/2008

Watch next it's going to be a BLACK Democrat! Nothing like a little race-baiting just before a General Election.

[sher2x4]

03:20 PM on 10/21/2008

What little faith i have left in mankind is waining.
This is more than sad.
This is tragic.