The judges are debating what the punishment should be for killing a child Tanner Horner They must have been seen crying inside a Texas courtroom on Thursday, April 16, as the state released video and audio evidence of little Athena Strand screaming and crying when she was killed by a FedEx driver.
Harrowing security footage from inside Horner’s truck also showed the 34-year-old killer cleaning his delivery truck after Athena’s brutal murder. The video also showed Horner rummaging through the slain 7-year-old girl’s backpack and talking through a checkpoint set up shortly after Athena’s kidnapping.
Horner pleaded guilty to robbery and aggravated kidnapping on April 7, as his trial is set to begin. Horner kidnapped Athena from her home in Paradise, Texas, on November 30, 2022, after she delivered a package to her mother’s home full of Christmas presents.
Strand’s naked body was found two days after his abduction in a nearby river.
Since entering his guilty pleas, jurors have been reviewing the evidence as they decide his sentence: death or life in prison.
Before the video was shown on Thursday, the Judge George Gallagher warned the court that “If you think you can’t watch it or listen to it, leave now, WFAA reported.
The state showed a video of Horner approaching the house and returning to the truck with the girl. He opened the door and lifted her into the truck.
“Are you a kidnapper?” Athena asked, seeming to realize she might be in danger, NBC DFW reported. “Where are you taking me?”
Athena was told by Horner to sit down and not yell, or he would hurt her, according to NBC DFW.
Horner then turned off the security camera lens, leaving only the sound of the kidnapping and murder. At one point, Horner told the 7-year-old, “You’re really beautiful, you know that?” Later, the killer’s voice was played asking her to undress and she asked her mother to answer.
A Missouri woman was arrested after killing an 8-month-old baby she was babysitting, which police say she “bruised” and lied about while she was sleeping. Jennifer Johnson was sentenced to life in prison for second-degree murder after being found guilty by a Boone County jury in January, according to the court. […]
The jury begins to break in as the girl’s screams are heard and a loud, inexplicable thump comes from the back of the delivery truck.
Understandably, several of the girl’s relatives were forgiving during this part of the punishment phase.
Prosecutors accused Horner of lying about hitting Athena with his FedEx truck and strangling her to avoid arrest.
Horner was indicted in February 2023 on charges of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated murder in connection with Athena’s death.
