TV Ancorwoman ~ Anne Pressly

An Arkansas television anchorwoman died
Saturday, several days after she didn't answer her wake-up call and was
found beaten in her home, hospital officials said.

"It was our hope, as was yours, that Anne
would overcome the injuries inflicted upon her in the brutal attack at
her home," the statement read. "We were with her in her last moments,
and although our hearts are broken, we are at the same time comforted
by our faith knowing that Anne is now with our heavenly father."

Pressly was beaten around the head, face and neck. She had been unable tocommunicate with her family or police while being kept sedated in the
intensive care unit. The anchor's death came only a day after a doctor said he was encouraged that her vital signs were stable while she remained in critical condition. Dr. Clifton R. Johnson told reporters Friday that swelling
in Pressly's brain had gone down since being hospitalized and that
doctors had slowly been reducing her sedative dosages.
She
was discovered Monday morning a half-hour before she was to appear on
ABC affiliate KATV's "Daybreak" program. Her mother went to her home
after she didn't answer her regular wake-up call.
Police
have yet to identify a suspect, though detectives have combed the area
around Pressly's home in the Heights neighborhood — a mix of bungalows
and mansions near the Little Rock Country Club. News reports have said
detectives found evidence that Pressly's credit card was used Monday at
a gas station a few miles from her home.
Sgt.
Cassandra Davis, a police spokeswoman, has said investigators suspect
Pressly was the victim of a random attack. Davis did not return a call
for comment Saturday night.
Pressly
was a native of Greenville, S.C., and moved with her family to Little
Rock while she was in high school. She was a graduate of Rhodes College
in Memphis, Tenn.
She
had a small role in the new Oliver Stone movie "W.," which was filmed
in Shreveport, La. She appears briefly as 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.
On
Saturday, KATV opened its nightly news cast with a seven-minute segment
devoted to Pressly. Anchor Pamela Smith told viewers that Pressly's
family agreed to have their daughter be an organ donor. Smith's voice
hitched as she read condolences sent into the station, her eyes red.

"She owned every room she was in, not because
she demanded our attention, but because we willingly gave it to her,"
Smith said. "We all felt a little better, a little more alive just
being near her.

"Life was easy for Anne Pressly. But it is her death that is so very hard for all of us."
No funeral arrangements were immediately announced.

Video about Anne