Saturday, January 10, 2009

ARKANSAS: ANNE PRESSLY KILLER, CURTIS LAVELLE VANCE, ARRAIGNED



Anne Pressly, 26, was a news anchor at KATV in Little Rock, Arkansas. She was a graduate of Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., which has discussed establishing a scholarship to honor her, and worked as a reporter for WBBJ-TV in Jackson, Tenn., in 2004.
AP/Little Rock Police Dept. / Nov. 26
Curtis Lavelle Vance, 28, was formally charged in Pulaski County Circuit Court Thursday with capital murder and rape, and also faces additional charges of burglary and theft. Vance is slated to return to court on January 15th to enter his plea.

Suspect in anchorwoman's killing to be arraigned
Fri January 9, 2009

(CNN) -- The man accused in the brutal killing of Arkansas television anchor Anne Pressly will appear next Thursday in Pulaski County Circuit Court, where he will enter a plea in the high-profile case.

Curtis Lavell Vance, 28, was formally charged Thursday with capital murder, rape, residential burglary and theft, Prosecutor Larry Jegley said Friday.

Neither he nor police would discuss details of the case because of a gag order imposed by the judge. Jegley hasn't said whether he will seek the death penalty.

Jegley said Vance, who denies he was in Little Rock, Arkansas, when Pressly was killed, was being held at the Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility.

Vance was linked to the killing through DNA testing.

Lt. Terry Hastings, spokesman for Little Rock police, told CNN in December that investigators are "110 percent" certain Vance killed Pressly, 26, who was the morning news anchor for KATV, a CNN affiliate.

Pressly was found unconscious in her home October 20 and died five days later at a hospital.
"She fought for her life. She fought her attacker. Her left hand was broken from trying to fight this man off," Pressly's mother, Patti Cannady, told NBC.

"Six weeks ago this morning, 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."

Hastings told CNN that DNA evidence also ties Vance to a rape in April in Marianna, Arkansas, about 90 miles east of Little Rock.

READ UPDATES OF HEINOUS CRIME AGAINST ANNE PRESSLY...

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

JESSIE DOTSON: LESTER STREET KILLER MIGHT GET DEATH

Accused killer Jessie Dotson appeared before a judge Monday, March 10 to face charges of six counts of first degree murder

Alan Spearman / The Commercial Appeal
Jessie Dotson appeared in Judge Ann Pugh's General Sessions Division 7 courtroom this morning.

Death Penalty Sought for Lester Street Murder Suspect Jessie Dotson
Contributor: Shane Myers
Email: smyers@myeyewitnessnews.com
Last Update: 12/29/2008 10:58 am

MEMPHIS, TN -- The Shelby County District Attorney says he will pursue the death penalty against Jessie Dotson, the man accused in the murder of six people -- including two children -- in a home on Lester Street.

The District Attorney's Office made the announcement after a grand jury indicted 33 year-old Dotson on six counts of first degree murder, three counts of attempted first degree murder and being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun, Thursday morning, December 4, 2008.

According to authorities, four adults and two children were found dead inside a home in the 700 block of Lester Street in March 2008. Police say three other children, who were stabbed, were taken to the hospital in extremely critical condition. All six of the murder victims were either stabbed or shot to death.

(snip)

The following statement was issued by the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office:

In the case of Jesse Dotson, we have identified seven different factors which qualify him for the death penalty under our state law. That’s pretty extraordinary. The correct course of action is to give the jury in the trial of Jesse Dotson the option of imposing the death penalty,” said District Attorney Gibbons.The seven specific aggravating circumstances under state law include:

1. The murders were committed against victims less than 12 years of age and the defendant was 18 or older;

2. The defendant was previously convicted of one or more felonies involving use of violence (Jessie Dotson pleaded guilty to second degree murder on November 21, 1994 and was sentenced to 18 years in prison);

3. The defendant knowingly created great risk of death to two or more persons, other than the victims murdered, during the act of murder;

4. The murders were especially heinous, atrocious or cruel in that they involved torture or serious physical abuse beyond necessary to produce death;

5. The murders were committed for the purpose of avoiding, interfering with or preventing a lawful arrest or prosecution of the defendant;

6. The murders were knowingly committed by the defendant while he had a substantial role in committing the other crimes (attempted murders);

7. The defendant committed “mass murder,” which is defined as the murder of three or more persons.

First degree murder is a charged covered by the D.A.’s “No Deals” policy on violent crimes. Exceptions are made to the policy for legal or ethical reasons. First degree murder is punishable by life in prison with the possibility of parole after 51 years, life in prison without parole, or death.

WHAT WILL BE JESSIE DOTSON'S FATE?

Sunday, January 4, 2009

GEORGIA: FRIENDS HONOR MEREDITH EMERSON WITH HIKER'S FOUNDATION

MEREDITH EMERSON


ELLA, MEREDITH EMERSON'S FAITHFUL FRIEND AND HIKING BUDDY

MISSION STATEMENT
Right To Hike, Inc. is dedicated to celebrating the life of our friend, Meredith Hope Emerson through raising funds and awareness for causes close to Meredith's heart. We hope to honor her memory by sharing her courage, love of the outdoors and belief that all people have the right to live without fear.


One Year Later, Georgia Hiker's Murder Inspires Better Rescue Methods
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Associated Press

ATHENS, Ga. — Friends of Meredith Emerson were distraught when she disappeared while hiking in north Georgia on New Year's Day a year ago. They were devastated when the 24-year-old University of Georgia graduate was found murdered one week later.

But Emerson's many friends were determined to make sure she will never be forgotten. In the year since she and her dog vanished Jan. 1, 2008 near Blood Mountain, they have raised $35,000 for causes important to former resident of Longmont, Colo.

Friends who started the Right to Hike Foundation raised money through a restaurant promotion, a 5K race and a banquet. The foundation donated $5,000 to the university to help endow a scholarship to study in France, as Emerson did. The group also bought 15 GPS units and distributed them to hiking outposts in north Georgia, paying the $99 annual subscription fee for each. Lost hikers can use the GPS to signal rescuers.

A former drifter, Gary Michael Hilton, is serving a life term for killing Emerson. Hilton coldly described to investigators how he had kidnapped her, beat and eventually killed her. He also faces a murder charge in the killing and decapitation of a nurse in Florida.

(snip)

The 20 or so friends who began the Right to Hike Foundation have also gotten a trail named for her: Meredith's Trail, at the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center. Karrenbauer said Emerson, who lived in Gwinnett County, often hiked there with her dog, Ella.

CHOMP RECOMMENDS THIS FOUNDATION.
THERE IS SO MUCH ON THIS SITE TO HONOR AND TO REMEMBER MEREDITH EMERSON. WE WILL NOT LET HER BE LOST AGAIN. PLEASE, CHECK THE "RIGHT TO HIKE" WEBSITE BELOW. BECOME A MEMBER, BECOME A SPONSOR, READ ABOUT MEREDITH AND HER BELOVED DOG, ELLA, JOIN IN HIKING ACTIVITIES.

In celebrating the life of Meredith Hope Emerson, friends and family have founded Right to Hike, Inc., a non-profit organization that plans to support causes that were close to Meredith's heart, including hiking safety.