A North Texas jury sentenced former FedEx delivery driver Tanner Horner to death Tuesday for the kidnapping and murder of 7-year-old Athena Strand, ending nearly three years of legal proceedings with a unanimous verdict that took jurors less than three hours to reach.
Judge George Gallagher read the verdict aloud in the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center in Fort Worth. He told Horner he would be executed before the hour of sunrise, at a date to be determined, at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville. The jury found unanimously that Horner is a future danger to society and that there were not sufficient mitigating circumstances to justify a sentence of life in prison without parole.
After the verdict was announced, Athena’s uncle stood and addressed the man who killed her directly. “You will be judged. You will face the wrath of God,” said Elijah Strand. “You are nothing. You are a footnote in Athena’s story. Her name will forever be remembered. Her name will forever be celebrated and everyone will forget you.”
What Happened on November 30, 2022
Athena Strand was 7 years old and living with her father Jacob Strand and stepmother Ashley Strand in the rural Wise County town of Paradise, Texas. On November 30, 2022, Horner arrived at their home driving a FedEx van to deliver a Christmas present meant for Athena, a box of “You Can Be Anything” Barbie dolls.
Investigators say Horner accidentally struck the child with his delivery truck while backing out of the driveway. Athena did not appear seriously injured, but authorities allege Horner panicked, placed her into his van, and strangled her out of fear she would tell her father what had happened. Prosecutors disputed that account from the start, arguing the story was a lie and that Horner had planned the crime in advance.
“The first thing Tanner Horner says to Athena when he picks her up and puts her in that truck, he leans down and he says: ‘Don’t scream or I’ll hurt you,'” Wise County District Attorney James Stainton said during the trial. “He says that twice.”
Athena’s stepmother called 911 that evening after she could not find the girl. A massive search followed involving 200 community members. Two days later, on December 2, Athena’s body was found dumped nude along the Trinity River. She died from blunt force trauma, smothering, and strangulation. Horner’s DNA was found under her fingernails.
The Trial
Horner, 35, was charged with aggravated kidnapping and capital murder of a person under 10 years old. As his trial began on April 7, 2026, he pleaded guilty to both charges, shifting the proceedings directly into a punishment phase where the jury’s only task was to decide between the death penalty and life in prison without parole.
Over 20 days of testimony, jurors heard from dozens of witnesses including loved ones of both Athena and Horner. The defense argued that Horner had been diagnosed with autism and bipolar disorder, had a deeply troubled childhood and a family history of abuse and suicide, and that these factors should spare his life. The prosecution countered by presenting chilling audio and video evidence that included Athena’s last moments after Horner lured her inside the FedEx van.
Athena’s mother, Maitlyn Gandy, took the stand on April 16 and described the desperate drive from Oklahoma to Texas after she learned her daughter was missing. “It felt like I was dying,” she told jurors. “I couldn’t breathe. But I knew I had to keep going.”
The prosecution’s closing argument became one of the most striking moments of the trial when District Attorney Stainton walked into the courtroom holding the shoes Horner wore the night he killed Athena.
The Verdict
After 16 days of evidence, jurors deliberated for less than three hours before unanimously deciding Horner should be put to death. They found there was a probability he would commit further acts of violence constituting a continuing threat, and that no mitigating circumstances were sufficient to spare his life.
“He’s your prisoner, Sheriff,” Judge Gallagher said after reading the verdict, before Horner was led out of the courtroom. Horner confirmed he would like an appellate attorney appointed to represent him, which is standard procedure following a death sentence in Texas.