A man faces a potential death sentence in Texas after pleading guilty to killing a 7-year-old girl moments before his trial was supposed to begin.
Tanner Lynn Horner, 35, had been charged with aggravated kidnapping and capital murder of a person under 10 years old in the death of Athena Strand, who disappeared from her home on Nov. 30, 2022.
On Tuesday, as the trial began, Horner pleaded guilty to the charges, meaning the jury seated will now only be tasked with determining whether he will face the death penalty.
Athena, 7, lived at home with her father and stepmother and had been sorting laundry in a converted storage shed that served as her and her sister’s bedroom when she disappeared. Athena’s stepmother, Elizabeth Strand, called 911 at 6:41 pm after she was unable to find the little girl.
Detectives on the case determined that FedEx had delivered a package to the Strand home during the time frame when Athena disappeared. They further found that the package was delivered by a company contracted by FedEx called Big Topspin. Working with the companies, investigators were able to obtain video from the van that delivered the package that showed a young girl in the van talking to the driver, later identified as Horner.
When he was approached by police, Horner allegedly admitted to taking Athena and confessed that the child was dead. He said that he had accidentally hit her with the van, and while she wasn’t seriously hurt, he was worried that she would tell her father. Police said Horner said he panicked and decided to kill the child. “When he attempted to break Athena’s neck, it did not work, so he strangled her with his bare hands in the back of the FedEx van,” detectives wrote in an arrest affidavit reviewed by Court TV.
Horner allegedly led police to an area approximately 15 miles away, where Athena’s body was found in the water.
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