Tanner Horner Pleads Guilty to Kidnapping and Killing 7-Year-Old Athena Strand After FedEx Delivery at Texas Home

Former FedEx driver Tanner Horner has pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and killing of 7-year-old Athena Strand, just hours before his capital murder trial was set to begin in Tarrant County, Texas.

Horner entered a guilty plea to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping on Tuesday, April 7, admitting responsibility for the 2022 killing that shocked communities across Texas. When asked for his plea, Horner responded, “Guilty, your honor,” and the judge accepted it.

The case now moves to the sentencing phase, where jurors will decide whether Horner will face the death penalty or spend the rest of his life in prison. His defense attorney has urged the jury to consider life imprisonment rather than capital punishment.

Athena Strand was reported missing on November 30, 2022, from her home in Boyd, Texas, shortly after Horner made a FedEx delivery to the residence. Her body was found two days later about nine miles away.

According to investigators, Horner initially told police he accidentally struck the child with his delivery van while backing up and panicked. He claimed he placed her in the van and later killed her out of fear she would tell her father what had happened. However, evidence presented in court contradicted that account.

Prosecutors revealed that a photo shown to jurors depicted Athena alive inside the FedEx truck, kneeling in the back, undermining Horner’s earlier claim that her death was accidental. Authorities also stated that Horner threatened the child, telling her not to scream or he would hurt her.

Prosecutors argued that Horner repeatedly lied to investigators, calling his statements a “web of lies,” while forensic evidence, including DNA found under Athena’s fingernails, further tied him to the crime.

During the trial, Athena’s stepmother testified that a package containing Barbie dolls — intended as Christmas gifts — had been delivered to the home the same day the young girl disappeared.

Horner was formally indicted in February 2023 and had initially pleaded not guilty before changing his plea this week.

As the case now heads into sentencing, jurors are expected to continue deliberations on April 8, determining whether Horner will face execution or life in prison for the killing of Athena Strand.