On day 13 of the sentencing phase in Tanner Horner’s trial for the murder of 7-year-old Athena Strand, jurors heard from people who knew Horner before the crime, with testimony painting him as socially withdrawn, emotionally fragile and prone to internalizing stress — sometimes to the point of harming himself rather than lashing out at others.
On Tuesday, the defense continued building its case through witnesses from Horner’s past, including former neighbors and friends. The common thread was describing Horner as socially immature, hard on himself and turning emotions inward rather than toward others.
Jurors first heard from a neighbor who described Horner as a bullied child who struggled to fit in. Two other witnesses testified that he could become flustered under stress; one said that when upset, Horner hurt himself rather than others.
The most striking moments came from two witnesses who did not want to be identified. They described how small disruptions could send Horner into visible distress.
“A lot of times she’d cut him off and wouldn’t listen to him, and it would make him upset … he’d hit his head against the wall a few times,” one of the witnesses said. “Visually flustered, shaking, rocking back and forth, not sitting still, just anxious.”
Child forensic psychiatry expert Dr. Eileen Ryan said Horner has multiple longstanding diagnoses, including Asperger’s, autism spectrum disorder, depression, ADHD and bipolar disorder. She said those conditions can compound and affect functioning. Still, she told jurors these diagnoses do not excuse the crime.
DEFENSE: Did any of these diagnoses cause Tanner to commit the offense to which he pled guilty?
RYAN: No.
DEFENSE: Did any of these diagnoses lead you to believe that Tanner was insane at the time of the commission of the offense?
RYNA: No.
That question may be one of the most important moments of the trial, because even a defense expert made clear this was not an insanity trial.
The next two days are expected to continue with difficult testimony, likely hearing from more of Horner’s family members.
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