Curtis Lavelle Vance was convicted of capital murder for the beating of KATV Little Rock anchor Anne Pressly. The AP reports that the same jury that found him guilty will now hear testimony before deciding if Vance will receive the death penalty.
Pressly, who was 26, was attacked in her home Oct. 20, 2008 and never regained consciousness. Vance, 29, was also convicted of residential burglary, rape and theft of property. He told police he was in Pressly's neighborhood to steal laptop computers from homes.
After the verdict was announced, Pressly's mother, Patti Cannady, said "Praise God, praise God," and began to cry.
Cannady had found Pressly the morning after the beating, when the morning anchor had failed to respond to her mother's daily wakeup call.
KATV is selling a book about Pressly, called Making Memories: The Celebration of the Life of Anne Pressly, with the proceeds going to a broadcasting scholarship in her name. News Director Randy Dixon and anchor Christina Munoz authored the book.
News of Vance's conviction had the Prayer For Anne Pressly Facebook page abuzz today. "We miss her so much in our home on the t.v.!!!" wrote one viewer. "She became a part of our daily life as she did everyone in Arkansas. She will always live on in our hearts."
