Athena Strand’s mom: ‘I will be her voice’
“I will be her voice.” Tanner Horner pleaded guilty to kidnapping and strangling 7-year-old Athena Strand. Her mother, Maitlyn Gandy, is speaking up.
Fox – 4 News
A Texas jury sentenced a former FedEx driver to death for kidnapping and killing a 7-year-old girl after delivering what would have been her Christmas gift.
In a surprising move, Tanner Lynn Horner pleaded guilty on April 7 to the 2022 murder of Athena Strand at the start of his trial, sending the proceedings into the penalty phase. Prosecutors asked the jury to give the death penalty, citing evidence including chilling, hour-long audio of the attack that moved some jurors to tears.
Prosecuting attorney James Stainton said Horner was delivering Barbies to Athena’s home in Paradise, a town of fewer than 500 people about 60 miles outside Dallas, when he abducted her in late November 2022. Stainton said Horner covered the camera in his FedEx truck before attacking Athena and then repeatedly lied to police about what happened and where her body was.
In his closing arguments on May 5, Stainton said the case was among the “worst of the worst,” and the kind of situation the state reserves the death penalty for.
Defense attorneys, meanwhile, called expert witnesses along with Horner’s family and former teachers in hopes of persuading the jury to sentence him to life in prison. The witnesses testified about Horner’s turbulent childhood, his autism diagnosis and his exposure to toxic amounts of lead.
Horner’s defense attorneys argued May 5 that prosecutors failed to prove Horner would be a continuing threat to society and that all of Horner’s problems should be considered mitigating factors warranting a life sentence. Jurors rejected both arguments after about four hours of deliberations.
People in the courtroom could be heard crying as Athena’s uncle shared his last memories of her and the toll Horner’s actions have taken on Athena’s family after the sentence was announced.
“He’s robbed us of safety, peace and our trust in the world and forever change who we are as a family,” he said.
Athena’s uncle also directly addressed Horner, who turned to face him.
“You did not just take a life, you destroyed a family,” he said. “You took a little girl who trusted the world and repaid that innocence with violence.”
Horner was then handcuffed and removed from the courtroom.
In Texas, a death sentence must automatically be reviewed by the Court of Criminal Appeals. The state has the second highest execution rate in the country, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, and there are currently more than 165 people on death row there.
This story has been updated to add new information.
