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Athena Strand’s accused killer indicted for her kidnapping and murder
The man accused of killing Athena Strand, who was murdered last year in Wise County, has been indicted for aggravated kidnapping and murder.
WISE COUNTY, Texas - The man accused of killing Athena Strand, who was murdered last year in Wise County, has been indicted for aggravated kidnapping and murder.
Tanner Horner is charged with killing the 7-year-old girl in December 2022.
Investigators said Horner told them he accidentally hit the girl with a delivery truck in late November.
It happened in the Wise County city of Paradise, northwest of Fort Worth. Horner had apparently just delivered Athena’s Christmas gift to her home.
Authorities said there is video evidence that shows Strand was alive and talking with Horner inside his truck.
He claimed he panicked, put the girl in his truck after hitting her, and then strangled her to death because he thought she was going to tell her dad.
The Wise County court document states Horner: "...did then and there intentionally cause the death of an individual, Athena Strand by strangling and/or smothering and/or asphyxiating Athena Strand... in the course of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping."
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Tanner Horner told investigators he strangled Athena Strand after hitting her with his van
The disturbing details of 7-year-old Wise County girl Athena Strand death came to light Thursday in a newly filed arrest affidavit for contracted FedEx delivery driver Tanner Horner.
CONTINUED COVERAGE:
- Athena Strand's mother, lawyers launch investigation into FedEx hiring practices
- Athena Strand's father sues FedEx, Tanner Horner, delivery company that hired him
- Athena Strand's grandfather forgives Tanner Horner in emotional social media post
- Athena Strand: What we know about Tanner Horner, the delivery driver who confessed to killing the 7-year-old
- Athena Strand: Tanner Horner strangled 7-year-old after hitting her with his van, arrest affidavit says
- Athena Strand: Community shaken by 7-year-old's killing
Athena’s mother, Maitlyn Gandy, released the following statement thanking the grand jury that indicted Horner.
Tanner Horner is accused of kidnapping and murdering 7-year-old Athena Strand outside her home in Paradise, Texas.
Horner also faces multiple counts of sexual assault of a child in Tarrant County that are not related to Athena’s death.
No trial date has been set for Horner in Wise County.
"You have to go back and completely investigate the defendants background. I’m talking about from the day he was born, until the day he found himself in the situation in custody, charged with capital murder," criminal defense attorney Bill Lane said.
Lane is not associated with the case but he gave perspective on what a criminal defense might involve in a case like Horner’s.
"There appears to be a threat of some kind of diminished mental capacity he’s dealing with. But whether he had a troubled childhood, whether he had there was abuse in the home, there’s just literally a list of 1,000 things that a defense lawyer has to look into to properly defend someone in these types of cases. It’s a real uphill battle," he explained.
The sheriff said he’ll push for the death penalty in this case, but it is not yet clear if the Wise County DA will seek the death penalty for Horner.
Lane offered insight.
"I would think it would be a bit of a public outrage if they didn’t seek the death penalty, but that all remains to be seen," he said. "There’s a lot of factors that go into that. There’s a lot that you don’t know and I don’t know that could go into that decision."