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Jurors Hear Audio of Athena Strand’s Final Moments in FedEx Truck During Horner Sentencing
Prosecutors used audio, video and forensic evidence to argue for a death sentence as jurors heard the child’s final moments.
- On Thursday, April 16, jurors at the sentencing trial for Tanner Horner heard graphic audio from his delivery van capturing the final moments of 7-year-old Athena Strand. The jury will decide if Horner receives life in prison or the death penalty.
- Horner pleaded guilty to capital murder and kidnapping in the 2022 death of Strand, whom he abducted while delivering a package to her home in Paradise, Texas. He confessed to strangling her after accidentally hitting her with his van.
- Medical examiner Dr. Jessica Dwyer testified that Strand died from blunt force injuries, smothering, and strangulation. Prosecutors warned jurors that Horner tried to kill the child "over and over again" during the abduction.
- Defense attorneys are focusing on mitigating factors including mental health diagnoses and childhood trauma to argue against the death penalty. Proceedings paused Friday and resume Wednesday, April 22, for evidentiary hearings.
- Following Strand's death, Texas Legislators passed the "Athena Alert" law, allowing authorities to issue missing-child alerts without meeting all initial criteria. The law expands alert protocols to a 100-mile radius around disappearances.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Jurors Sobbed Hearing Clip of 7-Year-Old Athena Strand's Murder
Jurors heard the audio and video recordings of the 2022 murder of seven-year-old Athena Strand in a Texas courtroom on Thursday. The post VIDEO — Athena Strand Case: Jurors Sobbed Hearing Audio of Seven-Year-Old’s Torture and Murder appeared first on Breitbart.
Killer sang 'Jingle Bell Rock' as Athena Strand screamed: Reports
FORT WORTH, Texas (Court TV) — Shocking and disturbing evidence played out in a Texas courtroom on Thursday as jurors were forced to hear a 7-year-old girl’s final moments. Tanner Horner sits in court during his trial on April 16, 2026. (Court TV) Tanner Lynn Horner, 35, pleaded guilty to kidnapping and killing Athena Strand in the moments before his jury trial began. The trial moved forward, however, because prosecutors are seeking the death pe…
Jurors Left Sobbing as Heartbreaking Video and Audio Evidence of Athena Strand, 7, Screaming While Being Murdered by FedEx Killer Tanner Horner is Played in Court
Tanner Horner has confessed to kidnapping the little girl in his FedEx truck, before killing her and dumping her naked body in a nearby river.
Why the jury is out as the Athena Strand murder trial enters week three
Previous Trial Coverage: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9-11 The trial over the murder of Athena Strand is heading into its third week, with the jury out of the courtroom until Wednesday. Prosecutors rested their case Thursday, but attorneys on both sides returned to court Friday without jurors present. Over the next few days, the focus is expected to be on vetting witnesses and determining which experts will…
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