Tanner Horner’s mother asked if he had done anything “weird” to Athena Strand on a jailhouse phone call
Athena Strand; Tanner Horner
Credit: Texas EquuSearch/Facebook; WFAA/YouTube
A recorded jail call between Tanner Horner and his mother is offering a new glimpse into the former FedEx driver’s state of mind after he killed 7-year-old Athena Strand.
In the call, obtained by KDFW-TV (FOX 4), Horner’s mother asked him, “Tanner, I just hope you didn’t do nothing weird to that little girl.”
Horner replied, “I didn’t, okay?” and his mother responded, “I didn’t think you did, I just know how you get.”
In another exchange played for jurors, Horner’s mother asked, “What did you do? Did she die on her own?” and he replied, “No.”
To this, she responded, “Oh my God,” as he said, “I know,” according to CBS News.
Horner, who was charged in the 2022 killing of the 7-year-old, pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping during his trial in Tarrant County, Texas, on April 7, as PEOPLE previously reported.
Jurors are now expected to decide whether he will face the death penalty or life in prison.
Athena Strand
Credit: Texas EquuSearch/Facebook
The child was reported missing on Nov. 30, 2022, and her body was found two days later. Horner — a FedEx contract driver who had been making a delivery in the neighborhood — was arrested shortly after, per previous PEOPLE reporting.
He later told investigators he had kidnapped and killed the girl, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.
Credit: Tarrant County Jail
During the trial, Wise County District Attorney James Stainton said the “only truthful thing” Horner told law enforcement “was that he killed her,” per earlier PEOPLE reporting.
Jurors were also shown letters Horner wrote from jail prior to a suicide attempt, including one addressed to Athena’s family in which he apologized for the killing. In the letter, he also wrote that he had been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, per CBS News.
Horner’s attorney, Steven Goble, has argued that the former FedEx worker suffers from mental illness and other conditions and asked jurors to spare him the death penalty.
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