The heartbreaking circumstances surrounding a FedEx driver’s abduction and murder of a little girl after hitting her with his truck during a delivery have come to light.
Tanner Horner, 34, pleaded guilty on April 7 to the capital murder and aggravated kidnapping of seven-year-old Athena Strand, just as his trial was set to begin.
Hanner was reportedly delivering a Barbie doll intended to be Athena’s Christmas present when he hit the young girl, before abducting her and then strangling her to death.
He now faces the possibility of the death penalty after confessing to the crimes, admitting he took Athena from outside her father’s home in Paradise, Texas on November 30, 2022.
Earlier this week, a court heard how Horner had told cops that Athena had not been seriously injured when he accidentally hit her with his van during a delivery. He claimed to have then panicked and forced her into the back of the vehicle.
There, he allegedly tried to snap her neck in order to avoid telling her father he had knocked her over.
According to an arrest warrant, Horner strangled the seven-year-old to death soon after. He then disposed of her body in the Trinity River, about 10 miles from her father’s home.
Wise County District Attorney James Stainton told jurors: “She was very much alive and uninjured when he put her in the truck.
“The first thing he said to her was, ‘Don’t scream or I’ll hurt you.’ That’s the first thing out of his mouth. He made good on it,” according to ABC7.
The court also heard that Horner was seen calmly driving, and even whistling, in footage taken after the abduction, while Athena appeared visibly distressed, something prosecutors say undermines his version of a chaotic encounter.
The attack was so harrowing that Wise County District Attorney James Stainton warned the jury about the horrors they were about to see and hear.
“Somebody covered up the camera because they don’t want you to see,” Stainton said.
“Guess what? Audio is still running, and you’re going to hear it.
“You’re going to hear what a 250-pound man can do to a 67-pound child.
“And when I say it’s horrible, I mean it.
“I’ve been doing this [for] 25 years, and I promise you, buckle up.”
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