Victim's family have chilling message for FedEx driver as he's sentenced to death by lethal injection
Warning: This article contains details which some readers may find distressing.
The family of a seven-year-old girl who was kidnapped and murdered told her killer he would 'face the wrath of God' after he was sentenced to death.
Athena Strand was playing outside her family home in Texas in November 2022 when she was first abducted by Tanner Horner, a FedEx driver who was delivering a box of Barbie dolls to her house for Christmas.
Chilling audio and video footage later captured the young girl inside Horner's van, asking: "What are you doing? Are you a kidnapper?"
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The 34-year-old can then be heard telling Athena that she was pretty and that she should remove her clothes.
Although there was no sexual assault charge, Horner's DNA was found inside the child's underwear, while audio footage made it clear that he had killed her, despite previous lies about hitting her with his van and panicking.
The driver first pleaded guilty on 7 April. Following 19 days of testimony, the jury took two and a half hours to decide between the death penalty and life in prison, and they unanimously found that there was a probability that Horner would commit further acts of violence.
Horner had sent the family a letter from jail, apologising for taking 'their little angel away', but it was little solace to a family that had been 'destroyed' by his horrific actions.
Her uncle, Elijah, bravely took to the stand to remind the driver of the consequences of his shocking crimes.
“You did not just take a life,” he said. “You destroyed a family. You took a little girl who trusted the world and repaid that innocence with violence.
"You chose to cause pain that will last generations. You say you found God, but what you did to Athena stands in direct opposition to everything that you now claim to believe.”
“You will face the wrath of God,” he continued. “I want you to know that you are nothing.
"You are a footnote in Athena's story. Her name will forever be remembered. Her name will forever be celebrated and everyone will forget you. You wanted your 15 minutes of fame. You got it. And no one's going to remember you after this.”
Horner's defence lawyers cited a troubled upbringing, mental health issues and an autism diagnosis as the potential reasons for his disturbing actions, but this was quickly rejected by the prosecutors, who claimed that he had long 'fantasised' about committing such a crime.
One lawyer said: “Thousands of people in the world have disabilities. Thousands of people in the world are autistic. And they get up every day. They live their life.
"They work, they have families, they struggle, they succeed and they fail. But the one thing they never do is use it as a crutch.”
The decision will automatically be appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, but for now, Horner will be moved to prison in Texas, where he will await an execution date.
Timeline of the investigation into Athena Strand’s murder
30 November 2022
Tanner Horner delivers a Christmas present to Athena Strand’s home, a box of ‘You Can Be Anything’ Barbie dolls.
Athena had got into an argument with her stepmum Elizabeth Strand, and it's believed she went outside to go to her makeshift bedroom in a converted storage shed, where she was staying during home renovations.
Horner kidnaps her. She is thought to have died about an hour after her disappearance.
CBS reports that police track down Horner the same day through digital evidence.
1 December 2022
Texas' Department of Public Safety issues an amber alert to try and find Athena. Two hundred civilians helped scour over 50 acres of land without success.
2 December 2022
Police find Athena’s naked body dumped near a river in Boyd, around nine miles from her home. Horner gives the police two false locations, before telling them where to find the body.
He originally says he ran over Athena and panicked, before admitting to killing her.
He is charged with capital murder and aggravated kidnapping and held on a $1.5 million bond.
6 March 2023
Horner pleads not guilty during his arraignment in Wise County.
Technicalities such as who should represent Horner and concerns around pre-trial publicity are said to have slowed down legal proceedings.
7 April 2026
Horner changes his plea to guilty just as his trial is about to begin.
Jurors are instead asked if he should receive the death penalty or life in prison.
They are asked two questions. First, do you consider Horner to be a continuing threat to society? Second, are there mitigating circumstances that should exclude Horner from receiving the death penalty?
5 May 2026
Tanner Horner is sentenced to death by lethal injection.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111, 24/7.
Topics: Crime
James Moorhouse