Tanner Horner, a FedEx driver, kidnapped and murdered little Athena Strand, seven, after he delivered packages to the youngster’s family home in Paradise, Texas
Jacob Strand, Athena’s father (pictured), was in court alongside her uncle(Image: AP)
The uncle of a tragic little girl who was murdered by a FedEx driver addressed the killer directly in court today.
Elijah Strand looked into the eyes of Tanner Horner, who killed his seven-year-old niece, and bluntly told the monster: “Everyone will forget you”. He made the address moments as Horner, 34, was sentenced to death for the murder, after a jury took less than three hours to deliberate on whether Horner deserved to die.
Mr Strand continued: “I want you to know that you are nothing. You are a footnote in Athena’s story. Her name will forever be remembered. Her name will forever be celebrated and everyone will forget you.”
Horner pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping on April 7, hours before his trial was set to start. The court was then shown chilling images of Athena in Horner’s FedEx van, into which the thug had bundled the little girl after delivering packages to her family home in Paradise, Texas.
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One black-and-white picture shows Athena in the van while Horner concentrates on the road ahead of him near Fort Worth, Texas. She was later strangled, and her body was found two days later approximately seven miles from her home, beside a country road.
Horner was emotionless as the execution sentence was announced at a court in Dallas, Texas, today. It was at this point when Mr Strand confronted the killer. He added that words couldn’t capture the devastation caused to every person who loved Athena when Horner robbed them of their trust in the world, forever changing who they are as a family.
Speaking in the courtroom, Mr Strand continued: “Athena was more than a headline. She was laughter, curiosity, kindness. And she had dreams that she will never get to chase. Birthdays that she will never celebrate in a life she’ll never get to live because of his actions. Our family has been left with an emptiness that can never be filled.
“We are left to carry grief that never fades. We are left with questions that will still never have answers. And we are left trying to honour the beautiful little girl whose life was taken in the most senseless and horrific way.”
In the closing arguments on Tuesday, Wise County District Attorney James Stainton called seven-year-old Athena a “warrior” for withstanding the traumatic ordeal before her untimely death in the back of the FedEx van in November 2022.
Horner had told authorities he accidentally struck Athena with his van and then strangled her in a fit of panic, but he had initially denied murder.
