FedEx Driver Sentenced To Death For Kidnapping And Murdering 7-Year-Old Athena Strand

A Texas jury has sentenced Tanner Horner to death for the 2022 kidnapping and murder of seven-year-old Athena Strand, bringing a devastating case to a close after years of legal proceedings.

Judge George Gallagher formally delivered the sentence Tuesday after jurors determined Horner should receive the death penalty for the brutal killing. Horner reportedly stood expressionless as the sentence was announced.

“It is therefore the order of this court that your punishment be death,” Gallagher told the convicted killer, adding that the execution would eventually be carried out by lethal injection under Texas law.

Athena’s body was discovered in a creek in December 2022, days after she disappeared from her father’s home in Wise County, Texas. Authorities later arrested Horner, who had been working as a FedEx delivery driver at the time of the murder.

According to investigators, Horner initially claimed he accidentally struck Athena with his delivery truck while backing out of a driveway. He later admitted that the child was not seriously injured but said he panicked and abducted her because he feared she would tell her father what happened.

Prosecutors said Horner then strangled the young girl to death inside his truck.

During the sentencing phase, jurors heard disturbing audio evidence from inside the vehicle. Court testimony revealed Athena pleaded with Horner during the attack, at one point telling him, “My mom says that you can’t do that to me.”

Investigators said Christmas music played in the background as Horner murdered the child. Evidence presented in court showed he later returned to the area while search efforts for Athena were underway and denied any knowledge of her disappearance.

Athena’s family delivered emotional statements following the sentencing. Her uncle, Elijah Strand, directly addressed Horner in court and condemned the destruction he caused.

“You did not just take a life, you destroyed a family,” he told Horner. “You are a footnote in Athena’s story.”

Horner pleaded guilty earlier this year to capital murder and kidnapping charges, avoiding a full trial but still facing the possibility of execution during the sentencing phase.

Under Texas law, the death sentence will automatically be reviewed through the appeals process before any execution date can be set.