Tanner Horner Sentenced to Death for Murder of Athena Strand
Tanner Horner, who admitted to the brutal killing of 7-year-old Athena Strand in Paradise, Texas, has been sentenced to death. The decision came swiftly, with the jury deliberating for under three hours before reaching their verdict. They deemed him a danger to society, even while incarcerated, and determined there were no circumstances that would warrant a life sentence instead of the death penalty.
Following Athena’s murder in late 2022, Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin indicated that authorities would push for capital punishment for Horner, who was working as a FedEx driver at the time of the crime.
Horner later confessed to killing Athena, stating he “threw it away” while disposing of her body. He had originally claimed that he accidentally struck her with his delivery vehicle. During the trial, he entered a guilty plea for capital murder and aggravated kidnapping after initially offering that explanation.
The jury was exposed to harrowing audio and video evidence from the murder, including moments that captured Horner abducting the child. There were accounts of him covering the truck’s camera and instructing her to remove her shirt. Some jurors reportedly were visibly shaken, even sobbing, as they listened to recordings of the torment Athena endured for over an hour.
Photographs from inside the delivery truck showed Athena kneeling while Horner drove, appearing unhurt at that moment—this contradicted his earlier assertion that he had accidentally harmed her prior to taking her away.
In the aftermath of the sentencing, reports indicated that Horner showed little reaction, seemingly emotionless as the judge announced his punishment of lethal injection. It was noted that he attempted to deflect responsibility for his crime by blaming an alter ego he called Zero. Additionally, forensic evidence linked him to the child, as analysts found his DNA on swabs from a sexual assault kit.
After the verdict, Strand’s uncle confronted Horner in court, expressing that Horner would face divine judgment. He emphasized the importance of Athena’s legacy, ensuring her name would always be honored and remembered.
According to reports, death sentences in Texas are automatically referred to the Court of Criminal Appeals. Horner, who pleaded guilty to capital murder, had faced the choice between life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty.
