A television presenter's face shattered "like an egg" during a brutal attack in her home in which she was killed, a US court has heard.
Anne Pressly, co-host of the Daybreak morning show in Little Rock, Arkansas, was hit so hard that a tooth with its root intact landed on her bedroom floor during a break-in at her home on October 20, 2008, the Associated Press reports.
Medical examiner Dr Stephen Erickson told Pulaski County Circuit Court a sharp blow crushed all the bones in the middle of Pressly's face while another shoved her jaw so far back into her head it cut off the blood flow to her brain.
The 26-year-old died in hospital five days after the attack.
Dr Erickson told the court he "felt crunchiness" during the initial examination of Pressly's face.
The man charged over the attack — 29-year-old Curtis Lavelle Vance — has pleaded not guilty to murder, rape and burglary.
Vance, from the small town of Marianna, faces death if convicted.
Dr Erickson told the court Pressly's left hand had been broken in five places and her left arm had an abrasion that was consistent with being held tightly.
He also said the TV host had injuries consistent with being raped.
Vance's lawyer questioned if those injuries could have been caused by medical examination.
Dr Erickson said it was possible but that the injuries appeared to have been inflicted around the same time of the attack.
The jury also heard a tape of Vance telling a police detective in February that he beat Pressly with a piece of wood found in her backyard.
"I lose control, she lose control," Vance said on the tape.
The jury is expected to begin deliberations tomorrow.
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