Prosecutors released a haunting black-and-white photo showing 7-year-old Athena Strand moments before her abduction and death at the hands of FedEx driver Tanner Horner while delivering her Christmas present. The image, released on Tuesday, shows Athena behind Horner on the day she was strangled in Texas in November 2022; she appears uneasy as Horner concentrates on the road ahead. Horner, 34, a former delivery driver accused of kidnapping and strangling Athena after hitting her with his van during a delivery, admitted to capital murder in a Tarrant County courthouse on Tuesday morning. After jurors were seated, Judge George Gallagher asked for the plea; “Guilty, your honor,” Horner replied, and the judge accepted.
Horner admitted to abducting Strand while delivering a package to her father’s home in Paradise, a town of fewer than 500 people about 60 miles northwest of Dallas. Her body was found on December 2, two days after she was reported missing, less than 10 miles from the home. Authorities said Horner was delivering a package of Barbie dolls that were intended to be Strand’s Christmas present. Athena was set to return to Oklahoma with her mother after the holidays and had been staying with her father, Jacob Strand, and stepmother, Ashley Strand, in Wise County.
According to the arrest warrant, Horner told investigators that he strangled the 7-year-old after accidentally hitting her with his van while delivering at her father’s home. He said Strand wasn’t seriously hurt after he hit her while backing up, but he panicked and put her in his van. On Tuesday, Ashley Strand testified about the immediate aftermath when she realized her stepdaughter had vanished. She recalled thinking perhaps she was hiding somewhere. The only thing she noticed as unusual on the property was a Walmart package containing Barbie dolls that had been ordered for Athena as a Christmas present and had been left in front of an abandoned trailer on the property.
Athena was reported missing, and an Amber Alert was issued, triggering 72 hours of searching. Wise County’s former Sheriff Lane Akin testified that the search efforts for the 7-year-old were a grassroots effort with community members standing shoulder to shoulder if she was found.
