MARIANNA, AR - What happened to the guy we grew up with? That's what Marianna, Arkansas, residents are asking about Curtis Vance.
Those who live in the convicted killer's neighborhood are in disbelief. They say they're having a hard time connecting the Curtis they used to hang out with the man convicted of brutally murdering T.V. news anchor Anne Pressly.
“What was hiding inside of him that we did not see?” says Lonnie Richardson.
It's a question people in Marianna keep asking themselves. Curtis Vance grew up in this town at a house on Moton Street.
Jerry Bonner says Vance always encouraged him when the two were kids.
“When I was doing bad in school, he's telling me ‘stay in school and keep your head up’” says Jerry Bonner.
Those are the memories that make it so hard for this neighborhood to cope. Vance's conviction is something everyone is talking about.
“I’ve been picking up the papers and stuff like that. Catching the news every night” says Davalone Taylor.
And reading the details of an attack that these neighbors say they never saw coming.
“The fact that she was beaten so bad her jaw was near her throat. Now that's what caught my attention right there” says Niesha Washington.
“The beating and especially the rape is what caught me” says Bonner. “It just threw me way off.”
Asked if Vance should be put to death for this crime, all of the neighbors said they hoped he got life in prison instead.
A school teacher from Marianna also says she was raped by Curtis Vance. Kristen Edwards took the stand last week during Vance's trial to talk about her attack. Prosecutors say they'll wait until sentencing is over to decide if they will pursue charges against Vance for that crime.
