A jury has found Curtis Vance guilty in the murder and rape of Little Rock, Arkansas anchorwoman Anne Pressly. He was also convicted of burglary and theft of property.

Prosecutors told the jurors in the trial that DNA evidence proved that Vance, 29, was the one who broke into Pressly's home last October and savagely beat and raped her until she was unconscious. After a tremendous fight, Pressly died five days later. The prosecutors also said the DNA evidence linked Vance to another attack, the rape of a school teacher in Marianna, Arkansas, about 100 miles away.

The defense: the police made him confess, because they were under extreme pressure to make an arrest in this case. Really? So DNA means nothing? This is embarrassing. That’s the defense? They can’t come up with anything better than that? This guy should have pleaded guilty and spared this poor family the pain of a trial, but as always, it is someone else’s fault, even the police.

Pressly was a popular morning news anchor in Little Rock. She also had a small part in President Bush biopic movie “W”.

Her parents always called her at 3:00a.m. as a wake up call. On the morning of October 20, 2008, Pressly never answered. After repeated calls, her parents became very worried and her mother rushed to her home where she found the back door wide open, and inside, her daughter was gasping for breath in a pool of blood.

Last year, after this vicious attack, Pressly's mother, Patti Cannady, told NBC, her daughter fought hard for her life, breaking her left hand in the process. "I found my daughter beyond recognition, with every bone in her face broken, her nose broken, her jaw pulverized so badly that the bone had come out of it. I actually thought that her throat had possibly been cut. Her entire skull had numerous fractures from which she suffered a massive stroke."

At the trial, Cannady was among the first witnesses to take the stand. "It was Anne, but she was so swollen and her hair was completely matted with blood, she was beyond recognition," Cannady said. "There was blood on the ceiling. That's how horrific her attack was." During Patty Pressly’s heartwrenching testimony, she stared down at Vance and choked back tears. "It was horrific," she told the jury. "I absolutely could not take the scene in. I could not imagine what I was seeing when I found my daughter."

A nurse who also testified told the court she had never seen anyone so badly wounded who was still alive. Another medical examiner also testified that the front of Pressly’s face was broken “like an egg”.

After the verdicts were read, Pressly's mother, Patti Cannady, raised a hand and said, "Praise God. Praise God." She burst into sobs.

Once the jurors had left, Vance gestured toward the empty jury box, pointed to his eyes and ears and shook his head. Whatever that was suppose to mean…..wow, I am innocent, my DNA is all over the place, but I didn’t do it. Disgusting.

A good friend of Anne Pressly, Jessica Dean, told Good Morning America “It feels like we’ve held our breath over the last year and we were finally able to exhale a little bit.”

Dean described her friend as remarkably funny, smart, and dedicated. Discussing Anne Pressly’s parents, Patty and Guy, she described them as “pillars of strength” through this ordeal. "They have set this example, and I know they have drawn strongly from their faith," Dean said. "When we get into the fetal position and can't do it anymore we look to Patti and Guy."

Another friend of Anne’s, David Bazzel said "Today was justice for Anne," after the verdict. "And it's taken a year to get to it, and I know nobody's more grateful than the parents and all of us as friends." He said the hardest part of the trial was having to listen to an account of the last moments of Pressly's life. "The whole thing was surreal for me," he said. "This was not 'CSI.' This was not a movie. This was our friend that had to go through horrible last minutes of her life, and it's just hard to hear that and to think that anybody could do this to anybody." He said of Vance, "What he did to her, the death penalty is not enough for him."

The jury is now deciding if this monster, Curtis Vance should get life in prison or the death penalty. I pray they put him on death row.

I feel so bad for these parents. What a horrific way to lose a daughter. I hope they find some peace that their daughter’s killer has been found guilty. I also hope the jury comes back quickly with a dealth penalty verdict. I will really be surprised if it is anything different.

Curtis Vance found guilty of rape and murder

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Baby Shannon found ALIVE in a cedar box

Seven month old Shannon Lea Dedrick, who at just 11 pounds and 2 feet tall, was reported missing by her parents on October 31^st. Four days later she was found in a locked 2-by-3 foot cedar chest hidden underneath her aunt/babysitter’s bed. Baby Shannon is believed to have been in the box for 12 hours before police found her.

Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock said “There was no bottle, just a blanket to cover her. She was healthy. She was just wide open and surprised.” Something else in the box with the baby was a box of baking soda to help cover the smell of the baby’s soiled diapers. Surprisingly, the baby is healthy.

To me, this story ”felt wrong” from the beginning. Why didn’t the parents ever interview on TV or plead for their child’s safe return? The actions of these parents, or lack there of, shows there was something seriously wrong in this home. Another thing that “felt wrong”, a 7 month old baby only weighing 11 pounds, there was definitely something wrong.

Police think Chrystina Lynn Mercer, the mother of Shannon, gave her daughter to the baby’s paternal aunt and babysitter, Susan Baker, a day before reporting her missing. Haddock said.

Both women have been charged with

***Interference of child custody.

***Making a false report of a missing child.

***Making a false report of a crime and contributing to the delinquency of a child.

Police have also charged separately,

***The mother, Chrystina Lynn Mercer, 25, with desertion of a child.

***The Aunt/Babysitter, Susan Elizabeth Baker, 50, with neglect of a child with aggravated circumstances and interference of child custody.

Baker’s husband was also in custody, but he was released without being charged, Haddock said.

Haddock offered no suspected motive.

Mother, Chrystina Mercer and Aunt/Babysitter, Susan Baker

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Stacy Peterson Missing Since October 2007

How strange is this? Two years (to the exact day) that Stacy Peterson goes missing, a tree and a plaque honoring her was stolen in front of the Bolingbrook Aquatic Center in Bolingbrook, Illinois.

Stacy Peterson was reported missing in the early hours on October 29, 2007. Her husband, former police Sergent, Drew Peterson, has been named as a suspect in her disappearance.

Stacy Peterson’s sister, Cassandra Cales said, “Well, whoever stole it must be someone who loved Stacy and wanted the tree and plaque for themselves. More power to them. They don’t have to worry about getting caught, Illinois State Police can’t tell a homicide when it’s right in front of them, let alone find my beloved sister.”

I don’t blame her sarcasm at all. The case seemed to be ran unprofessional from the get go. It seems there must be quite a lot of corrupt in this town and with the police. Someone had to be covering for this guy, and more than once.

Drew Peterson, dripping with disgust, has consistently insisted that Stacy ran off with another man. One big problem with this, no facts back this up. However, lots of other information surfaced about past domestic abuse, one dead wife, one missing wife. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist. Either this guy is the most unlucky guy in the world, or he is GUILTY. 

Kathleen Savio, the third wife, was found dead in a DRY bathtub on March 1, 2004. The original autopsy said Savio died of an accidental drowning, but her body was exhumed shortly after the disappearance of Stacy Peterson and the obvious seem to be staring everyone in the face. The new autopsy declared Savio’s death a homicide.

Drew Peterson has been charged in her death and thank God, he is finally in jail. Another strange twist to this story, two years to the day of  Stacy going missing, not only was there the theft, but Drew was in court for the murder of Kathleen. We can all only hope he rots in jail. No girl/woman over the age of 16 is safe with this guy around and FREE.

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Nine-Year Old Elizabeth Olten

A Cole County judge ruled that the next hearing for the 15-year-old murder suspect in Elizabeth Olten’s death will be open to the public. During the November hearing we will find out whether the female suspect, who is charged with first degree murder, will be tried as an adult. If the teen is tried as an adult, her name will be released to the public.

The judge also ruled that the suspect will remain in police custody until her trial. An attorney for the suspect argued that publicity from Olten’s death will make it impossible for his client to have a fair trial.

Elizabeth Olten, just 9 years old, disappeared October 21 while walking home from a friend’s house in St. Martin, Missouri. Investigators say “written evidence” lead them to the suspect. Days later, on October 23, the young suspect led police to Olten’s body (which was well concealed) in the woods behind the suspects home. It was also reported that the 15-year-old suspect is the older sister of Elizabeth’s friend. (Not a creepy neighbor guy preying on your children, not a registered sex offender, or a deranged psychopath, like many were probably thinking.)

Who would have thought this was possible? As a parent, I have had concerns with my children going to friend’s homes. Concerned about them getting hurt, wonder if they will be supervised by an adult, what are the rules there, do the parents have guns in the home, etc. Not once have I ever thought that I should be concerned about the siblings in the home. Sadly, I have added that to my list now, because of this disgusting and senseless crime.

Elizabeth’s funeral was this week. Some of the mourners wore pink shirts, Elizabeth’s favorite color. “She was a giver,’ said the Rev. Monte Shinkle. “She gave of her love to family and friends.”

Pink balloons were released at the burial of nine-year-old Elizabeth Olten.

Nine-year old Elizabeth Olten being carried to her final resting place by a horse-drawn hearse in Jefferson City, Missouri.

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Missing 20 year old Virginia Tech Student Morgan Harrington

MISSING TIP LINE FOR MORGAN HARRINGTION  434-352-3467 PLEASE CALL WITH ANY INFORMATION.

Morgan Dana Harrington, a 20-year-old student from Virginia Tech, was last seen on October 17, 2009, near the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she was attending a Metallica Rock Concert with friends.

Morgan’s last known whereabouts:

On October 17, Harrington and a friend picked up another friend at James Madison University and then traveled to Charlottesville to attend the rock concert. Morgan Harrington was not the driver.

Before Metallica even took the stage, Morgan became separated from her friends when she went searching for a restroom around 8:30 p.m. and ended up outside the arena. It’s the policy of this arena (and many others) that patrons are not permitted to re-enter. Harrington contacted her friends by cell phone around 8:40 p.m. to let them know she was outside and that she might find another way to get home.

Morgan’s Description:

Morgan was last seen wearing a black T-shirt with the tan letters that spelled “Pantera” across the front, a black mini skirt with black tights and knee high black boots. She has long blond hair and blue eyes. Morgan is 5-feet-6-inches tall and weighs approximately 120 pounds.

Anyone who saw Harrington or someone matching her description any time during or after the concert are urged to contact authorities immediately. Please call police at (434) 352-3467 with any information.

Harrington’s purse and cell phone (without the battery) were found near the arena by a passerby on Sunday morning following the concert.

There is a reward of $150,000.00. Morgan’s parents had the reward at $100,000.00 when Metallica put up a post on their website and also added  $50,000.00 to the reward totaling it at $150,000.00.

Check out Metallica’s website and post about Morgan here:

http://www.metallica.com/index.asp?item=602638

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It is looking more and more like this is yet another terrible tragedy. The beautiful 7 year old Florida girl has been missing for 3 days now. Today, police and detectives have announced that they found a body of a small white child. Not even able to tell the public if the body was male or female. Of course, everyone is thinking, it has to be sweet Somer Thompson. Many have first thoughts of  ”I hope it is not her”, but then….WHO is it? No matter what, the fact is, a child’s dead body was found among trash in a landfill today.

What is going on in our country? Why does this keep happening? We need changes in our justice system. Predators who steal, rape, and kill our children need to be put away for life! An overwhelming concern is that we keep letting these monsters out and back into our society and around our children. We need to band together and make changes! There is too much violence against young, small, innocent, and defenseless children.

This beautiful little Somer was doing everything right. She was walking home from school with her older sister, her twin brother and other neighborhood kids. According to the other children, during the walk, Somer had a spat with another child and decided to run up ahead and walk alone. She was never seen again. Please pray for this little girl, her family, and her community. This is such a devastating situation.

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Jaycee Dugard on the cover of People Magazine set to be on newsstands Friday, October 16th

The anticipation is over and the veil has been lifted, so to speak. After all the speculation. We finally get a look at Jaycee Dugard. There she is….alive, well and beautiful on the cover of People magazine.

She did not give an interview to the magazine, but did give some statements. One statement being “I’m so happy to be back with my family. Nothing is more important than the unconditional love and support I have from them”.

The picture of her shows her with light brown hair and the same blue eyes that match her picture when she was 11 years old and abducted while walking to the bus stop before school all those years ago.

She is beautiful and surprisingly looks to be around 19 years old. Not her actual age of 29. She really looks amazing for what she has been through. Inside the magazine is several pages of more pictures of Jaycee and her mother. Her two daughters, allegedly fathered by Jaycee’s abductor, are also photographed, but only from the back.

What an inspiration to other parents who are desperately looking for their missing children. Gives them some hope that their loved one is still out there. As for Jaycee Dugard, I am thankful to her for sharing the photos. It is wonderful to see her and know she is O.K. She is a miracle.

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Picture to the right is of Jennifer Schuett at the age of 8 when she was kidnapped, raped, and left for dead in 1990.

This beautiful little girl, Jennifer Schuett, in 1990 was taken from her own bed by a man who crawled through her window. He took her to a remote field, brutally raped her, slit her throat, and left her for dead.

Amazingly, 14 hours later she was found alive. This young girl is a survivor and a hero. She has lived her adult life helping other victims and speaking out in hopes to find the man who attacked her.

And now it has happened. 19 years later it happened. Dennis Earl Bradford, a 40-year-old welder, was arrested near Little Rock, Arkansas where he has lived for the last 7 years with his wife and two children. In 1990, at the time of the brutal attack, Dennis Bradford lived less than two miles from Jennifer Schuett’s apartment.

Jennifer’s Schuett’s description of her attacker to a sketch artist in 1990 turned out to be amazingly similar to Dennis Earl Bradford’s driver’s license picture from the time.

During a press conference announcing the arrest, 27-year-old Jennifer Schuett said, “This event in my life was a tragic one. Today, 19 years later, I stand here and want you all to know that I am OK. I am not a victim, but instead, victorious.” She also said “I hope that my case will remain as a reminder to all victims of violent crime to never give up hope … With determination and by using your voice to speak out, you are capable of anything”.

This woman is so brave and amazing. When she was 8 years old, this monster tried to silence her permanently, by cutting her throat and slicing her voice box.  She was unable to cry or scream for help. From her hospital bed after being found, she communicated with investigators through handwritten notes what had happened to her. Even then and definitely today, she is anything but silent.

Beautiful Jennifer Schuett 2009 “Victorious’ in her own words.

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The body of a beautiful Yale graduate student, Annie Le, was found on September 13, 2009 inside a wall of a Yale lab where she was last seen alive. Annie Le went missing five days before on September 8, 2009.

Le, 24-years-old, was in her third year of graduate studies working on a doctorate in pharmacology. She was only 4′11″ and weighted approximately 90 pounds. She was born to Vietnamese immigrants in California and was raised by her aunt, Ngoc-Tuyet Bui, in Placerville, California. She has been described as a high achiever and hard worker by many family and friends who loved and adored her.

The day she went missing, she is seen on security cameras entering a Yale medical research building that has a lab in the basement where Le was known to work many hours doing medical research on animals. A place where only a few were allowed and needed ID cards to enter. However, she is NEVER seen leaving the building.

As if the story couldn’t get more disturbing, the day her body was found, was suppose to be her wedding day. Left behind was an abundance of evidence, including bloody clothes found above ceiling tiles….according to police, these clothes did not belong to Le. There was also a mysterious fire drill that took place around the time Miss Le went missing and probably was murdered.

This is so disgusting to me, the violence against people today. Violence against women and children. Especially something so senseless as this story. She had her whole life in front of her and had worked so hard with her education. The public is left asking “why?” and “who would do something like this?”.

According to police….this man….Raymond Clark III.

An arrest has been made and even more sick….this murder could have been over something as ridiculous as a disagreement over how to take care of the rats and their cages in the research room. Raymond Clark, a laboratory technician has been arrested and charged in Le’s murder. One of his duties was cleaning the cages where the experimental rodents lived, an occupation that is likely to have brought him into contact with Le. Police have declined to discuss the relationship between the two. Raymond Clark, also 24, did not enter a plea during his brief court appearance and he is being held on a $3 million bond.

Autopsy results show the cause of death as “traumatic asphyxiation” due to neck compression. It will be interesting as more evidence becomes public. Is there anyone else involved? Did he have help hiding the body? Or did he tell someone afterwards? Did his girlfriend/fiancee know or notice something strange about him? Is it possible no one knew anything?

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It is sick to read about the neighbors feeling that there was something wrong, but did nothing. I don’t necessarily blame them, they have to live with the decisions that they made NOT to do anything. But the rest of us should learn something from this! If you are suspisious…CALL and follow up with police, making sure that they actually DID somehting!

Elizabeth Smart (the 14 year old girl who also was abducted by a man AND wife in Salt Lake city….to live with them on the street and eventually be found alive after 9 long months) and her dad have spoken publicly about Jaycee Dugard and what she might be going through and feeling right now.

The father of Elizabeth Smart from Utah, said he’s horrified by the parallels between the latest abduction story to shock the nation and his own daughter’s long journey with an alleged kidnapper. In both cases, the accused abductor seems to have been motivated by religious beliefs, Ed Smart said. “It makes you angry that anyone would use God as an excuse to rationalize their predatory behavior,” he said.

Dugard’s alleged captors, 58-year-old Phillip Garrido and 54-year-old Nancy Garrido, have pleaded not guilty to a total of 29 counts, including forcible abduction, rape and false imprisonment. Are you kidding me??!! NOT GUILTY! What kind of defense are they going to use? Insanity? They were crazy all right, but not crazy enough to know right from wrong, to continue to hide Jaycee and her two children in their backyard. Not too crazy to have their own printing business.

I realize the defense attorney has an ubelieveable tough job, but come on here. This is a sicken story. I am hoping for Jaycee, her daughters, and her family that they plead guilty and go to prison for the rest of their lives….hhmmm the death penalty doesn’t sound too bad either.

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