Former FedEx driver Tanner Horner pleaded guilty on April 7, 2026, to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping in the November 2022 death of 7-year-old Athena Strand, just as his criminal trial was set to begin in Texas. Jurors were then tasked to decide if the 34-year-old should be sentenced to death or life in prison — and the evidence presented during the penalty phase has been harrowing.
Here’s what is known about the crime, the trial and the disturbing details that have emerged from the courtroom before the jury ultimately sentenced him to death.
How Tanner Horner Killed Athena Strand
Horner stopped at Athena’s home in Wise County, Texas, on November 30, 2022, to deliver a package. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the package contained Christmas presents intended for the little girl.
Horner told law enforcement that he struck Athena with his FedEx truck and then strangled her to prevent her from telling her father about the collision, according to his arrest warrant affidavit. He later dumped her body, which was discovered naked in the Trinity River within 10 miles of her father’s home on December 2, 2022.
Prosecutors, however, say that account is a lie.
“The only truthful thing that Tanner Horner told law enforcement was that he killed her,” Wise County District Attorney James Stainton said in his opening statement, according to the Washington Post. “The pattern and web of lies that he put together, it’s going to be hard for ya’ll to keep up with. It is lie upon lie upon lie upon lie.”
Stainton argued that Horner abducted Athena without her ever being harmed by a collision. “The first thing Tanner Horner says to Athena when he picks her up and puts her in that truck, he leans down and he says: ‘Don’t scream or I’ll hurt you.’ He says that twice,” Stainton told the courtroom.
Horner was indicted in February 2023 on charges of aggravated kidnapping and capital murder.
Inside the FedEx Truck: What Jurors Saw and Heard
On April 16, 2026, jurors were shown video and audio captured from inside Horner’s delivery truck. The footage was so disturbing that Judge George Gallagher warned the courtroom beforehand: “If you think you cannot watch it or listen to it, leave now,” WFAA reported.
The video showed Horner pulling up to the house and walking back to the truck with Athena. He opened the door and lifted her inside.
“Are you a kidnapper?” Athena asked, seemingly realizing she might be in danger, NBC DFW reported. “Where are you taking me?”
Horner told her to sit down and not to scream, or he’d hurt her. He then covered the security camera’s lens with a sticky note, leaving only audio of what happened next.
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At one point, Horner told the 7-year-old, “You’re really pretty, you know that?” Audio was later played of the killer ordering her to undress and her asking for her mother in response.
Before the killing, Horner asked Athena to take off her shirt. She told him her mother had taught her to say “no” to such requests, according to WFAA.
Jurors began breaking down in tears as the girl’s screams could be heard, along with loud, indistinct banging from the back of the delivery truck. Several of Athena’s relatives excused themselves during this portion of the penalty phase.
Prosecutors have insisted Athena was not sexually assaulted, but WFAA reporters who were inside the courtroom said the audio appeared to indicate otherwise. They said there was no question that something sexual was going on.
‘Jingle Bell Rock’ Played During the Murder
One of the most chilling details to emerge involved the truck’s radio. Reporters said the radio was left on during Athena’s murder, and at one point, the holiday song “Jingle Bell Rock” began to play.
In the audio, Horner can be heard singing along to the tune, but is drowned out by the girl’s screams, WFAA reported. He eventually yells at her to “Shut up!”
Additional security footage showed Horner cleaning up his delivery truck after the murder, sifting through Athena’s backpack and talking his way through a checkpoint that had been set up shortly after her abduction. Footage also showed him enjoying a cigarette as he drove the FedEx truck after the killing.
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The Defense Case: Autism and Mental Illness
The defense’s case began on April 22, 2026. Horner’s attorney, Steven Goble, asked jurors to consider a life sentence rather than death.
Goble said that based on the evidence, what Horner did was “overwhelming” and “terrible,” according to the Washington Post. But he argued that Horner has Autism and has experienced “various mental illnesses throughout his life.”
“When someone’s brain is what’s injured, you don’t see it,” Goble said in the courtroom.
Horner’s Mother Breaks Down on the Stand
Horner’s mother, referred to as Mrs. Horner by attorneys, took the stand on April 22, 2026, and broke down in tears.
“I am so mad at him. I want to just tear his ass up,” she said through tears, according to CBS News. “She was just a baby.”
When asked by the defense if she loved her son, Mrs. Horner responded, “Of course, I love my son. I don’t love who did that, though. I don’t know who that was.”
She told the prosecution that Horner initially told her “he abducted the little girl, he panicked and strangled her.” Asked what her understanding of the event was now that she had watched the livestream of the trial, she said through tears: “I don’t know what to say, I’m so sorry.”
Mrs. Horner also testified about her difficult upbringing, and told the jury her stepfather sexually abused her. She described struggles with drug abuse and mental health issues and said she used heroin for 25 years and is now on methadone.
Additionally, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder.
She met her son’s father, Terry Horner, when she was a teenager working at a Fort Worth strip club. She claimed Terry raped her on the night they met, though she later married him at 19.
She continued using drugs throughout Horner’s childhood and was arrested on drug and prostitution charges, serving time in jail. She said Horner had a hard time making friends and communicating with other kids growing up, and that he was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and ADHD. She said he was bullied at school.”
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Closing Arguments in Athena Strand’s Murder Trial
Closing arguments took place on May 5, 2026. Stainton argued that Horner should receive the death penalty, saying that criminals like Horner are “proof why there is evil in society and we can never turn back.”
“That’s what it took to beat the life out of her, and I think that’s key to this entire case,” he said, per NBC FW. “If the facts were not bad enough, if the sexual assault wasn’t bad enough, the level of violence that one person can inflict on a child, including stomping them with a pair of shoes.”
During the defense team’s closing arguments, Goble told jurors that their decision came down to their individual moral judgement.
He also argued that the prosecution was unable to prove that Horner sexually assaulted Athena.
Tanner Horner Sentenced to Death
Just four hours after the closing arguments on May 5, 2026, the Texas jury sentenced Horner to death.
People in the courtroom cried as Strand’s uncle shared his last memories of the young girl, as well as how her murder impacted the family.
“He’s robbed us of safety, peace and our trust in the world and forever changed who we are as a family,” her uncle said after the sentencing was revealed, per USA Today.
Strand’s uncle also directly addressed Horner in the courtroom. “You did not just take a life, you destroyed a family,” he said. “You took a little girl who trusted the world and repaid that innocence with violence.”
This story was compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists.
