A chilling CCTV still, released by prosecutors, shows the final moments of seven-year-old Athena Strand’s life as she sat, apparently unharmed, behind the driver’s seat of a FedEx van. The image captures her abductor, Tanner Horner, at the wheel, looking calm and even whistling as he drove her away from her home in Paradise, Texas, in December 2022.
The Contradiction at the Heart of the Case
This footage forms the core of a stark contradiction now before a jury in Fort Worth. Tanner Horner, 34, pleaded guilty to the capital murder of a child under 10 and to aggravated kidnapping, sending the case directly to a punishment phase to determine if he receives the death penalty or life imprisonment without parole.
After his arrest, Horner told detectives he had accidentally hit Athena with his delivery van and, in a panic, bundled her inside before strangling her to stop her telling anyone. Wise County District Attorney James Stainton has branded this an “absolute lie,” directing the jury to the CCTV proof that Athena was visibly uninjured.
The prosecution alleges a far more sinister sequence. James Stainton told the court that Horner’s first words to Athena upon abducting her were, “Don’t scream or I’ll hurt you,” which he said twice. The package Horner had delivered to the Strand family’s rural home moments earlier was a Christmas present for Athena: a box of “You Can Be Anything” Barbies.
Athena’s stepmother at the time, Ashley Strand, said the youngster loved the freedom of their country life, where she got to “run wild and free.” Her body was discovered two days after she vanished from that home.
The Prosecution’s Evidence: A “Horrible” Recording and DNA
District Attorney Stainton warned jurors the evidence would be “rough” and advised them to “buckle up.” While the van’s internal camera was covered when Athena was killed, its audio continued to record. “You are going to hear what a 250-pound man can do to a 67-pound child,” Stainton said, describing the recording as “horrible.”
The prosecution presented forensic evidence that Athena fought her attacker, with Horner’s DNA recovered from under her fingernails. Stainton also stated that Horner’s DNA was found “in places where you shouldn’t find DNA on a seven-year-old girl.” He characterised Horner’s statements to police as a “pattern and web of lies” that was “lie upon lie upon lie.”
CBS 11 obtained Tanner Horner arrest affidavit. Horner said he accidentally hit Athena with his FedEx truck, she was not seriously injured, but he panicked and put her in the van, strangled her. @CBSDFW pic.twitter.com/lCUPsfJtwG
— Nick Starling (@NickStarlingPIO) December 8, 2022
The Defense Appeal for Mercy
In his opening statement, Horner’s defence attorney, Steven Goble, did not dispute the overwhelming evidence of guilt but asked the jury to choose a life sentence. He argued that physical and mental illness were factors, stating, “When someone’s brain is what’s injured, you don’t see it.”
Goble told jurors that Horner’s mother drank during pregnancy, that Horner has autism, has suffered “various mental illnesses throughout his life,” and was exposed to a “massive amount of lead.”
The legal proceedings were moved from rural Wise County to Fort Worth after the defence argued Horner could not receive a fair trial in the small community deeply affected by Athena’s death.
Athena’s mother, Maitlyn Gandy, has publicly supported seeking the death penalty. In a statement following Horner’s indictment, she said, “Every breath he takes is one my daughter doesn’t.” The jury must now weigh the brutal nature of the crime against the mitigating circumstances presented by the defence.
