Arkansas Television Anchor Anne Pressly Attacked & In Critical Condition
Monday, October 20, 2008


An Arkansas television anchor who filmed a bit role for the movie "W." was found in her home early Monday suffering from life-threatening injuries caused by a brutal beating.

Anne Pressly, 26, the morning anchor for KATV-TV in Little Rock, was found by her mother at about 4:30 a.m. lying in her bed and bleeding from "severe injuries," police said.

"We do believe she was beaten," Sgt. Cassandra Davis of the Little Rock Police Department told FOXNews.com. She said the injuries were to the upper body and included stab wounds.

Pressly was listed in critical condition at a local hospital, Davis said.

Pressly may have been attacked during a robbery, as her purse is missing. But Davis said that police haven't found any forced entry to her home on Club Road in Little Rock.

"It’s not a neighborhood known for any violent crime," Davis said.

Police do not have suspects in the case, but said they were questioning neighbors, friends and co-workers, Davis said.

Anne Pressly Pressly was seen in "good condition" at 10:30 p.m. and her mother, who normally gives Pressly a wake-up call, found her daughter, Davis said.

"She didn’t get an answer so she went to the address on Club Road, and she found her daughter inside the residence lying in the bed suffering from some severe injuries," Davis told FOXNews.com.

Pressly's dogs, which were also missing, have been found.

Early Monday afternoon, a man who answered a phone listed for Pressly's mother, Patricia Cannady, said the family had no comment.

According to her resume on the Internet Movie Database, the ABC anchor played a news commentator in Oliver Stone's new movie, "W." She also played a sorority girl on the soap opera "As The World Turns."

Pressly won her role in "W.", which was filmed in Shreveport, La., when she went to the city for a story on the movie and Shreveport's film industry. She appears briefly as a conservative commentator who speaks favorably of President Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech.

KATV's Web site notes that Pressly's most notable interview was with Vice President Dick Cheney. Pressly was returning from a story in Humphrey and traveling through Stuttgart, where the highway was blocked in front of hunting supply store Mack's Prairie Wings.

It turned out that Cheney, an avid hunter, was inside. Pressly asked for an interview, which she conducted on the ammunition aisle.

Pressly is a 2004 graduate of Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn.

During its 11:30 a.m. newscast, anchor Jason Pederson read a story about the attack and said Pressly was hospitalized.

"We would ask that you keep Anne in your thoughts and, especially, in your prayers," Pederson said.

Her fans had created a Facebook prayer page Monday afternoon.