FedEx Driver Admits Killing Girl He Was Delivering Christmas Gift To
The capital murder trial of Tanner Horner began April 7, 2026, with a moment no one in the Fort Worth courtroom had anticipated. Before a single witness was called, Horner — a former FedEx delivery driver charged with kidnapping and strangling 7-year-old Athena Strand in 2022 — stood before Tarrant County Judge George Gallagher and entered a guilty plea.
"Mr. Horner, to the charge of capital murder, you may plead guilty or not guilty. What is your plea?" the judge asked.
"Guilty, your honor," Horner replied.
With those two words, the guilt-innocence phase of the trial was eliminated entirely. The case moved immediately into the sentencing phase, where jurors will now decide whether Horner, 35, will be executed or spend the rest of his life in prison.
A Christmas Package and a Missing Child
The crime dates to the afternoon of November 30, 2022. Horner was working as a contracted FedEx driver when he arrived at the Strand family's rural property in Paradise, Texas — a town of fewer than 500 people roughly 60 miles northwest of Dallas.
He was delivering a Walmart box addressed to Athena's stepmother, Elizabeth Strand. Inside were Barbie dolls she had ordered as a Christmas gift for Athena.
Athena, who had been living with her father Jacob Strand and stepmother since May of that year, was outside when Horner arrived. According to his own account to investigators, he accidentally struck the girl while backing his delivery van out of the driveway.
Horner told police she was not seriously hurt, but he panicked, fearing she would tell her father what had happened. He placed her in his van and strangled her.
'I Thought Maybe She Was Just Hiding'
When dinner was ready that evening and Athena was nowhere to be found, her stepmother began searching the property. She initially assumed the girl — described by those who knew her as spirited and full of energy — was simply playing.
"I thought maybe she was just hiding somewhere," Ashley Strand testified during the sentencing phase.
The only unusual thing she noticed was the Walmart box, left by an abandoned trailer on the property rather than at the front door. Elizabeth Strand called 911 at 6:41 p.m. An Amber Alert was eventually issued, setting off a 72-hour search that drew hundreds of volunteers.
"I'll never forget the morning of Dec. 1 — citizens came from all parts of Wise County to help us find that child," former Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin testified. "We had what we estimated was about 300 citizens and they brought their 4-wheelers. Some brought horses. Some brought dogs. It was shoulder to shoulder."
Photo Places Athena Inside the Van
Prosecutors presented the jury with a still image taken from a camera inside Horner's delivery truck. The black-and-white photo shows Horner in the driver's seat and Athena standing behind him. She does not appear to be physically injured in the image.
Investigators said a review of FedEx delivery records and van camera footage led them to Horner the same day Athena was reported missing. When approached by detectives, Horner admitted to taking her and told police she was dead.
He then led authorities to an area approximately 15 miles from her home, where her body was found in a creek near Boyd on December 2 — two days after she vanished.
Prosecutors say DNA evidence placed Horner's DNA under the victim's fingernails. Audio from inside the van, they told jurors, captured Horner telling the child: "Don't scream or I'll hurt you."
Prosecutors Call His Story a Lie
While Horner admitted to the killing, prosecutors argued he lied about nearly every other detail of what happened. Wise County District Attorney James Stainton told jurors in opening statements that the story about accidentally hitting Athena with his van is false.
"He brought violence, fear and death," Stainton said, warning jurors they would hear the audio of what took place inside the truck.
The punishment phase is expected to last up to three weeks. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. The defense is asking the jury to sentence Horner to life in prison.
Defense Cites Autism and Brain Damage
Horner's defense attorneys, Susan Anderson and Steven Goble, filed more than 30 pretrial motions in January, including a request to have the death penalty removed as a sentencing option. They argued that Horner's Autism Spectrum Disorder reduces his moral culpability and places him in a similar category to intellectually disabled defendants, who are constitutionally protected from execution.
The defense also raised claims of prenatal alcohol exposure and brain damage, suggesting these conditions affected Horner's judgment and impulse control.
Horner was charged in Wise County following his December 2022 arrest but was later indicted in February 2023. His case was transferred to Tarrant County after his legal team successfully argued that extensive local media coverage made a fair jury pool impossible closer to home. He had originally pleaded not guilty.
Athena's Legacy: A New Alert System
Athena Strand's death prompted the creation of the "Athena Alert" in Texas, which allows law enforcement to send localized alerts within a 100-mile radius of where a child has gone missing — including into adjacent counties — providing faster community notification in child abduction cases.
Athena's first-grade teacher at Paradise ISD, Lindsey Thompson, testified that the classroom felt heavy after the girl's death. Her students knew something was deeply wrong.
"I adored Athena," Thompson said. "She was a free spirit. She loved drawing, she loved to write, she loved to color. She truly was a genuine gem."
The trial is continuing. Jurors are expected to review hours of police interview video, including footage of Horner leading investigators to where he left the child's body.
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