UPDATE
Curtis Lavelle Vance was formally charged in Pulaski County Circuit Court Thursday with capital murder and rape, and also faces additional charges of burglary and theft.
Police in Little Rock, Ark., have apprehended a suspect, Curtis Lavelle Vance, in the brutal killing of local anchorwoman Anne Pressly, who died after being severely beaten in her home last month. Thank God they caught that scumbag. Words cannot express how sad I was when I learn this woman was brutally beaten and eventually succumbed. Why would someone do this to anyone is beyond me. I don’t advocate violence but I am tired of the young black men who give decent, law-abiding hardworking and honest black men a bad name. This is reprehensible and I hope, if he is proven guilty, this scumbag rots in prison for the rest of his sorry life.
At a news conference earlier in the evening, a police spokesman identified the suspect as Curtis Lavell Vance, 28, Marianna, Ark. They said they believe Vance was driving a black 1998 Oldsmobile Aurora, and was believed to be armed with a 9mm High Point pistol with extra ammunition.
Vance was believed to be traveling with a woman named Sheanika Cooper, 25, and three small children, police said. Police have a Web-based service for people who want to submit tips or other information pertaining to the case or to Vance. Source: ABC News
Ms. Pressly survived for five days after the beating, but doctors kept her heavily sedated because of the seriousness of her injuries, and detectives were unable to question her about her attack.
Pressly was one of the hosts of “Daybreak,” a morning show at ABC News Little Rock affiliate KATV. She also had a small part in Oliver Stone’s film “W.”
Brad Garrett, a former FBI agent and ABC News contributor, said on “GMA” that the attack had many of the signs typically seen in crimes related to stalking.”Someone who is struck multiple times tends to lend itself to someone who had an obsession with her or knew her, because it’s personal versus someone who was going to steal,” Garrett told “GMA.”
“Stalking or bothering people is a fairly common thing for people who have daily exposure to the public on television. It tees the ball up for that type of personality that wants to create some fantasy world.”
Let me end by giving a hat tip to Kim Wilson, one of my regular readers. She put the whole incident in the proper perspective. She reminded me that the crimes committed by blacks are disproportionately covered in the media than similar crimes committed by whites. Therefore, it seems that young black men are the only ones committing the crimes. I agree with her position because it is very valid. It, however, does not take away the overriding theme that personal responsibility plays a big role in the things we do. This is a very controversial subject and I suspect that there will be varying opinions, most likely split against race and social standing.
Filed under: Anne Pressly, Brutal Beating, Curtis Lavelle Vance, Little Rock, Sheanika Cooper