Ark. TV Anchor Gravely Hurt After Attack

(CBS/AP)  A popular local TV anchorwoman who had a small part in the Bush biopic "W" was in critical condition Monday after being stabbed and beaten in her home, and police said they are investigating possible motives.

KATV anchor Anne Pressly, 26, was found about 4:30 a.m. Monday by her mother, who went to the house when her daughter didn't answer a wake-up call, Little Rock police spokesman Cassandra Davis said.

Davis said investigators are talking to Pressly's co-workers to determine whether she "has had any problems." Davis said Pressly's purse was gone and that robbery was among the possible motives being explored. Davis would not discuss specifics of what the investigation revealed.

Pressly was found unresponsive in her bed. Davis said Pressly had been beaten and stabbed severely and was in critical condition at an hospital.

Pressly appeared briefly in Oliver Stone's new movie about President Bush that opened over the weekend.

She portrays a conservative commentator who speaks favorably of President Bush's "Mission Accomplished" event on an aircraft carrier shortly after the start of the Iraq war. She won the role after being noticed by the casting director when she went to Shreveport, La., where the movie was filmed, to work on a story about it and the city's film industry.

Spokeswoman Kate Hubin for the film company Lionsgate confirmed Pressly's role but declined to comment further.

KATV's Web site notes that Pressly's most notable interview was with Vice President Dick Cheney. Traveling through an Arkansas town, she found the highway blocked in front of a hunting goods store because Cheney was inside. Pressly asked for an interview, which she conducted on the ammunition aisle.

During its 11:30 a.m. newscast, anchor Jason Pederson read a story about the attack.

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

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

After earning her Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Rhodes College, Pressly was hired as a full-time producer and part-time reporter at KATV in May 2004, producing "Good Morning Arkansas" and reporting for "MidDay Arkansas" and "Saturday Daybreak," according to her bio on the station's Web site.

[searcher911]

I am always sorry to hear of a violent crime.

It was most likely just a robbery, they happen all the time, and eventually the police will get there to take evidence and write a report. Too bad that the liberal press is making it into a political issue.

Too bad she didn''t pick up a gun at the sporting goods store, she might have been able to defend herself.

[ddaymichael]

Whatever happened to this poor woman...it''s a sad commentary on our times.

Having grown up in Brooklyn in the 50s, I''m old enough to remember when a woman would be judged a "bad mommy'' (at least by us kids) if she was a parent who wouldn''t let her children take sheets and pillows out to Prospect park to sleep on really hot nights.

Times change.

I hope for the best for this lady.

[ddaymichael]

Whatever happened to this poor woman...it''s a sad commentary on our times.

Having grown up in Brooklyn in the 50s, I''m old enough to remember when a woman would be judged a "bad mommy'' (at least by us kids) if she was a parent who wouldn''t let her children take sheets and pillows out to Prospect park to sleep on really hot nights.

Times change.

I hope for the best for this lady.

[ladyephesus1]

Lord, I ask that you heal her wounds and give her back life.

Amen

[vincan-2009]

I hope this poor woman recovers and identifies her attacker. This is horrible to happen to her or any one else. I hope they find who did this and give him the death penalty.

[cattlekate]

I hope she is okay. My thoughts are with her and her family. She is so young. The crime almost sounds personal, and not a "robbery."

[smurfcrusher]

Poor woman. I hope she has a speedy and full recovery. My thoughts are with you.

[frogprophet]

Hey d7767w,
is that your number of the beast? Republican too?

[upto1947]

Scum, that is all I read on here.

[sepa2]

Hope she did not go to bed drunk and let her guard down. Drinking cause more death and problems than smoking but tolerated and celebrated every where. The hypocracy is astounding