No Suspects in Case of Murdered Ark. Anchorwoman, 'Celebration' of Life to Be Held

Oct. 29, 2008 — -- Guy Cannady, the father of slain anchorwoman Anne Pressly, told "Good Morning America" today he is frustrated that no suspects have been apprehended, but would "prefer [the Little Rock police] take their time, do it right and get this guy."

The Little Rock, Ark., anchorwoman, who was found in her home severely beaten last Monday, died of her injuries Saturday.

Police do not have a suspect and are being tight-lipped on the investigation, but according to a statement released by police Tuesday, "such should not suggest that work is not proceeding nor being aggressively pursued in this matter."

Though the investigation is short on results so far, one act of final giving by Pressly is not.

"We were asked if we would consider organ donation. We didn't have to think at all," Cannady said. "We knew that that's what Anne would want to do. After her pronouncement, at 7:07 p.m., almost 24 hours afterwards to the minute, we were advised that Anne's gift had been given to six individuals who were recipients of her organs."

Though a memorial service is set for Thursday, Cannady said it will not be a funeral, but a celebration.

"We have a very strong faith," he said. "We're going to celebrate not only her life, but her life in the hereafter."

Click here for more information on organ donation.

Brutal Attack, 'Outpouring of Compassion'

Pressly, 26, the anchor for "Daybreak" on KATV, the ABC News affiliate in Little Rock, was found in her home Monday, with injuries to her face, neck and head, a half-hour before she was to appear on air.

"We are profoundly saddened to tell you that our dear Anne has lost her struggle for life," Guy and Patti Cannady, Pressly's parents, said in a statement posted on the KATV Web site. "It was our hope, as was yours, that Anne would overcome the injuries inflicted upon her in the brutal attack at her home. 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.

"The outpouring of compassion we have received is truly a testament to the way in which Anne has touched so many people in a positive way. Thank you for your prayers and your many acts of kindness."

KATV said in a statement that "The staff of Channel 7 cannot express our grief at the loss of Anne, our dear friend and co-worker. We thank everyone for their concerns and prayers for Anne and her family over the past week. Please continue to keep her family in your prayers."

Doctors had kept Pressly heavily sedated because of the seriousness of her injuries, and detectives were unable to question her about her attack. Police have no suspects and are treating the incident as "random."

According to The Associated Press, police have no evidence that suggests Pressly was targeted because of her high-profile job, but they have not ruled out stalking. Police said Tuesday that Pressly's missing purse suggested robbery as a possible motive.

After Pressly did not answer her wake-up call, Patricia Cannady, Pressly's mother, went to her home and found the anchorwoman in her bed.

"The front door was latched when her mother went there," KATV president and general manager Dale Nicholson told "Good Morning America." "The front porch light was on and I think she almost dreaded going to the back for fear that it wasn't going to be latched. It wasn't."

"[It] is possible that it is something other than robbery," Davis told reporters Tuesday. "Our detectives are talking with co-workers because she was a public figure, because she was on the news, in the media."

Brad Garrett, a former FBI agent and ABC News contributor, said the attack has many earmarks 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 "Good Morning America."

"Stalking or bothering people is a fairly common thing for people who have daily exposure to the public on television," he said. "It tees the ball up for that type of personality that wants to create some fantasy world."

Pressly, who also had a bit part as a Republican pundit in the movie "W.," is not the first young anchorwoman to tragically become the story.

In 1995 Jodi Huisentruit, a morning anchorwoman in Mason City, Iowa, called the newsroom to say she had overslept and was on her way, but never arrived. The contents of her purse were found scattered near her car. She hasn't been seen since.

A few years later Katherine Dettman, a Waco, Texas, reporter, was attacked and killed by a neighbor who had been stalking her. Police said she had left the door open a crack for her cats.