Police seek motive in Ark. anchorwoman's beating

[October 21, 2008]  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- 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 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. Davis said Pressly's mother, Patricia Cannady, regularly gives her daughter a wake-up call and went to her home when Pressly didn't answer.

A man who answered Cannady's phone on Monday said the family had no comment.

Pressly won a small role in the new Oliver Stone movie "W" 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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On the Net:

http://www.katv.com/

[Associated Press; By CHUCK BARTELS]

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