Tanner Horner, the man accused in the 2022 killing of 7-year-old Athena Strand, pleaded guilty Tuesday morning as his trial was set to begin in Fort Worth.
Horner was charged with capital murder of a person under the age of 10 and aggravated kidnapping.
The punishment phase of the trial, expected to last up to three weeks, began after Horner officially pleaded guilty in front of the jury.
During opening statements, prosecutors told jurors they have audio of Athena’s kidnapping and will play it for the jury. Horner allegedly told Athena: “Don’t scream or I’ll hurt you.”
The jury will hear, “what a 256 pound man can do to a 67 pound girl,” Wise County District Attorney James Stainton said.
“He brought violence, fear and death,” he told jurors.
Horner, a former FedEx driver, told police in 2022 he hit Athena with his delivery van while delivering a package to her house. He then allegedly kidnapped and strangled her out of fear she would tell her father.
Athena’s body was found 72 hours later after Horner confessed to police and led them to the body in a creek, according to court records.
Horner initially pleaded not guilty in 2023. He was first charged in Wise County, northwest of Fort Worth, but his case has since moved to Tarrant County after Horner's lawyers successfully argued he would not get a fair jury pool due to the amount of media coverage the case received.
On Tuesday, Elizabeth Strand, Athena’s stepmother, testified the girl began living with her and Jacob Strand, Athena’s father, in May of 2022 after Athena’s mother became sick.
Their rural property in Wise County was the perfect place for Athena to “run wild and free,” Elizabeth Strand said.
She described the day Athena went missing as a normal day — Jacob had left on a hunting trip and the kids were playing outside after school.
Then they couldn’t find her.
Strand recounted searching the whole property for Athena before calling police.
It fully sunk in for her that Athena was missing when helicopters began flying overhead looking for her.
The only unusual thing that stuck out to her was the cardboard Walmart box that held the Barbie dolls she bought for Athena laying on the ground. Horner delivered the package, she later discovered.
The Strands later learned Athena was dead.
“I lost it,” Elizabeth Strand said.
A photo from inside Horner’s FedEx truck was shown to the jury. Horner is in the driver’s seat, and Athena can be clearly seen kneeling nearby.
His lawyers, Susan Anderson and Steven Goble, filed at least 30 motions in January, including one that referenced Horner's autism, which "reduces his moral blameworthiness, negates the retributive and deterrent purposes of capital punishment, and exposes him to the unacceptable risk that he will be wrongfully sentenced to death."
Autism spectrum disorder is related to brain development and affects how a person sees other people and socializes with them, according to the Mayo Clinic. It can cause issues with communication and may include repeated patterns of behavior. There is a wide range of symptoms and severity.
The defense argued in court filings that Horner should have the same level of protection from the death penalty as an intellectually disabled person. The Eighth Amendment generally protects intellectually disabled people from being executed.
The case led to the creation of the "Athena Alert," which allows law enforcement in Texas to send out localized alerts within a 100-mile radius of where a child has gone missing and in adjacent counties.
Prosecutors on Tuesday also called to the stand Lindsey Thompson, Athena’s first grade teacher at Paradise ISD. She described Athena as a typical 7-year-old girl that loved life.
“I adored Athena,” Thompson said. “She was a free spirit.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Dylan Duke is KERA's Breaking News Reporter. Got a tip? Email Dylan Duke at dduke@kera.org.
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