Killer FedEx driver Tanner Horner has been sentenced to demise for the homicide of 7-year-old Athena Strand by a jury in Texas.
The confessed killer discovered his sentence at a court docket in Fort Price, Texas, some 40 miles southeast of the place Strand’s bare physique was dumped in a creek on Nov. 30, 2022.
Jurors deliberated for about three hours after arguments rested Tuesday.
On the opening day of his trial, he admitted to strangling Strand after by chance hitting her along with his truck after which kidnapping her exterior her home in Paradise.
All through the trial, which was moved from Clever County to Tarrant County as a consequence of intensive native media protection, the jury was introduced with actually harrowing items of proof, together with audio of Athena’s homicide, footage of her deserted garments, and testimony from forensics consultants about DNA discovered across the little woman’s genitals.
Forward of the primary day of sentencing on April 7, the jury was warned to “buckle up” by Clever County DA James Stainton.
“You’re going to listen to what a 250-pound man can do to a 67-pound little one. And after I say it’s horrible, I imply it,” he advised the jury.
“I’ve been doing this 25 years, and I promise you, buckle up,” he added.
However no quantity of forewarning might put together the court docket for what they noticed.
Jurors had been left sobbing of their seats as footage from Athena’s homicide was performed, and a few viewers within the gallery even fled from the courtroom because the horrific video minimize out and and the sounds of Athena being strangled crammed the room.
That clip began by exhibiting Horner lifting Athena into his FedEx truck, with the woman ultimately asking “Are you a kidnapper?” as they drove away.
Horner didn’t reply, and as an alternative lined his truck’s digital camera and mentioned, “You’re actually fairly. You understand that?” because the audio recording continued on.
The truck was then heard stopping, and Horner was heard telling Athena to take her shirt off.
She mentioned “No,” and started asking for her mother — after which started screaming because the sounds of Horner slamming her into the truck ground crammed the courtroom.
“Shut up,” he advised Athena as she moaned. “If you happen to don’t shut up, I’ll harm you worse.”
The Christmas carol “Jingle Bell Rock” then started enjoying on the truck radio, and Horner started singing alongside as he strangled Athena along with his naked palms. He lastly stopped singing as soon as Athena quieted and died.
The jury additionally heard from two younger girls who claimed Horner had raped them after they had been underage and he was in his early 20s, together with a person who lived with Horner as a baby and made related claims.
And though he denied sexually assaulting Athena, a forensic analyst revealed that Horner’s sperm cell DNA couldn’t be excluded from the swabs in Strand’s sexual assault package.
Horner’s damning Google historical past, together with a search asking whether or not the cameras in FedEx supply vans “consistently report,” was additionally introduced in court docket.
Horner’s protection centered on his psychological well being and background, arguing that he’s on the Autism spectrum and has struggled with long-term psychological sickness.
In a letter he wrote from jail earlier than a suicide try in 2023, Horner blamed FedEx for switching his routes within the weeks earlier than Strand’s homicide.
He claimed that adjustments to his routine exacerbated his Asperger’s Syndrome.
Horner additionally blamed the crimes on his alter ego, named “Zero.”
He claimed that he thought the killing was a “nightmare,” till he discovered Strand’s pants in his backpack the subsequent day.
The cowardly assassin was additionally seen crying in a police interview about not being allowed to go dwelling for a month so he might spend Christmas along with his younger son.
Prosecutors pushed for the demise penalty, saying Horner’s actions had been chilly and calculated, and mentioned he lied to investigators at each flip.
