DNA Led Cops to Pressly Murder Suspect

No clear motive in brutal home invasion

(NEWSER) - Police in Little Rock have arrested a suspect in the murder of Anne Pressly, reports KATV, where the popular anchorwoman worked. Curtis Lavell Vance, 28, was apprehended late last night, shortly after police named him as the suspect in the October slaying, and charged with capital murder. The police chief attributed the severity of the charge to "a very, very solid case due to solid detective work," the AP reports. More»

Killer spared death penalty in Pressly's slaying

(NEWSER) - An Arkansas man has been sentenced to life without parole for the savage rape and murder of Anne Pressly, a morning news anchor for CNN affiliate KATV. Pressley, 26, died 5 days after she was found beaten unconscious in her home last year. Curtis Lavelle Vance's defense team told the court he had suffered brain damage after being abused as a child, but Little Rock jurors found him guilty after a few hours of deliberation. More»

(NEWSER) - FBI forensics experts found a blood stain in the shape of a child in fetal position in the trunk of Casey Anthony’s car, according to newly released documents. One intelligence analyst pointed out the silhouette in an email to another bureau employee last September. “You can make out what may be the back, bottom, and legs most clearly,” she wrote. “Several of us can see this image.” Anthony's murder trial is scheduled to begin in January. More»

(NEWSER) - Some 18 years after a Pennsylvania camp counselor was shot in the head and raped as she died, cops have charged the son of a famed Metropolitan Opera bass with the brutal murder, the New York Post reports. Jeffrey Plishka, 46, has long been suspected of the crime, and the body of 24-year-old Laura Ronning was found near the farm of his father, Paul Plishka. New DNA evidence led to his recent arrest. More»

Parents tell Matt Lauer she broke hand, jaw before being killed

(NEWSER) - The parents of slain anchorwoman Anne Pressly said today she was raped and beaten before being killed, KATV reports. They told the Today show's Matt Lauer that Pressly's hand and jaw were broken in the attack, reports the AP. "This monster stole my daughter's innocence," Pressly's mother said. "He took her life. He took her identity." Police, who have so far called the case a homicide, would not verify the remarks. More»