EP. 245 - TEXAS: The Murder of Athena Strand

Warning. The following podcast is not suitable for all audiences. We go into great detail with every case that we cover and do our best to bring viewers even deeper into the stories by utilizing disturbing audio and sound effects. Trigger warnings from the stories we cover may include violence, rape, murder, and offenses against children. This podcast is not for everyone. You have been warned. Today's story has been a huge case in the true crime world recently. It involves a little girl named Athena, who disappeared from her dad's house in November of 2022. I have been following it since the crime first occurred. And up until the perpetrator's trial, the story surrounding this case was that a FedEx driver accidentally hit Athena with his truck while making a delivery at her house. Then in a panic, he kidnapped her, not wanting to get in trouble. Now I think I can speak for everyone when I say we all kind of raised our eyebrows at that. Based on our knowledge of true crime, many of us suspected that there might have been something darker at play, that it wasn't for self preservation, but possibly a sexual motive. It wasn't until the perpetrator's trial came around when we learned just how dark this story is. Now you'll notice this is an extremely long episode, and that's because I originally broke it into two parts. Part one was the story we knew before the trial, and part two is everything we know about this case today. I decided to combine them, so it's a very long episode, but this is the story of Athena Strand. Trigger warning, it is a very hard one to listen to, but I'm Courtney Brownen, and I'm Colin Brownen, and you're listening to Murder in America. (Music) (Music) (Music) Paradise, Texas, a rural community located in Wise County, located 40 miles northwest of Fort Worth. Legend has it that the town earned its name when a passing cowboy described the area as a paradise, and the name just stuck. With roughly 700 residents, it's the type of town where everyone knows each other. Schools are good, crime is low, and daily life revolves around football games and church on Sundays. It's peaceful, simple, and removed from the influence of big city life. Economically, the area has long been tied to farming and ranching, though in recent years some residents commute to larger nearby cities for work. Despite that, Paradise has held on to its rural identity. It's the epitome of small town America, a place that probably lives up to its slogan, "City of Paradise." Yes, it really is. But on November 30, 2022, after winding down from the Thanksgiving holiday and anticipating the arrival of Christmas, Paradise was about to be confronted with something it had never experienced before, the disappearance of a seven-year-old child. Athena Strand was supposed to be in her bedroom at her father's house, but when her stepmother went to get her for dinner, she was nowhere to be found. What followed were hours of panic, confusion, and a desperate search that would grip the small Texas town. Athena Presley Monroe Strand was born on May 23, 2015, in Duncan, Oklahoma. Her parents were Jacob Strand and Maitling Gandhi. Athena grew up in Comanche, Oklahoma. She was described as, quote, "insent beautiful kind, intelligent, and just the brightest, happiest soul you could ever meet," end quote. Athena was the type of child who never met a stranger. She loved horseback riding, and she made friends everywhere she went. Now her parents had been together since 2012. They separated in 2017 when Athena was two years old. Her mother Maitling stayed in Comanche, and her father Jacob relocated to Paradise, Texas. In the first few years of Athena's life, she lived primarily with her mother in Oklahoma, but she and her mom would often travel the 100 miles, so she could visit and spend time with her father. Athena and her dad were close. She was always a daddy's girl. She was the perfect mixture of me and Jacob. She loved to wear her pretty princess dresses, but at the same time she would play in the same pretty princess dresses. And she was just, she was free, and she was wild, and she was bright, and she was loving. She wanted to be loved and to give love, and that's it. Athena loved everything. She loved life. We like to watch movies together. It was very common for us to have movie nights, popcorn, and candy. It was very common for her too. I want to ride her horse with her aunt Kate. It was very common for her to want to do anything outdoors with her father, so long as her father was around. She would, she watched him butcher animals, she watched him clear property. As long as daddy was around, she was great with being dirty and being outside. Co-parenting wasn't always easy, but at the forefront of Maitlin and Jacob's mind was their daughter. No matter what differences they faced, they never wanted it interfering with Athena's well-being. Maitlin later said, quote, "There were rough moments, but we always had an agreement that those rough moments didn't need to enter our children's lives. We co-parented, in my opinion, pretty dang well, because as long as Athena's needs were met, and she was happy, that was important to him and I," end quote. Athena shared a close bond with everyone in her family, her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. She often stayed with her grandmother while her mother worked. Maitlin later said, "Next to me, I'm pretty positive my mom loved her more than anyone else in this world. But in December of 2018, when Athena was only three and a half years old, tragedy would strike. Just days before the new year, while Athena and her grandma were home alone, Maitlin's mother died unexpectedly at her house." She just died. But Athena, being Athena, I don't know how she knew. I didn't train her and teach her what death was. She hadn't had death in her life, but she ran out to my Nana's house, which would be her great-grandmother. And it's about an acre away. Each of these houses are on about an acre. And she went and got help. And the only reason we know that is because there's a ring camera outside of the house. And she just kept telling my Nana, "Grandma's dead." My Nana, being my Nana, didn't grab her phone before she left the house and couldn't get into my mom's phone because I had a coat on it. So she sent Athena another acre away in the opposite direction to get more help. She was only three and a half. Even at a young age, Athena knew that something was wrong and she wanted to do whatever she could to help. It showed her natural sense of kindness, love, and concern. And now, one year later, in December of 2019, Madeleine gave birth to Athena's younger sister, Ryland Don Gandhi. Athena was thrilled and slipped into the role of big sister, naturally. For over a year, she had been begging her mother to give her a sibling, and her wish finally came true. Athena adored Ryland. Pictures showed the two grinning ear to ear, holding hands and wearing matching Halloween and Christmas pajamas. And an annual tradition at Madeleine's house. For a while, life was perfect, at least until 2022. Tragically, Madeleine started experiencing health complications. She was in and out of doctor's offices, undergoing tests and procedures in an effort to determine a diagnosis. Carrying for two young children became difficult, and she made the hard decision to send Athena to live with her father and paradise until everything was resolved. From there, Jacob and Madeleine continued to co-parent their daughter, and she settled into her new living arrangement, seeing her mother and young sister on the weekends. By this point, Jacob Strand had remarried a woman named Ashley. The two had settled on six acres of land in Paradise, Texas. By the time Athena came to live with them, the couple had just welcomed a daughter of their own in 2021. Jacob's oldest daughter Alice, from a previous relationship, lived with them too. But Athena seemed to fit right in. They were a tight, close-knit, loving family. And for Athena, Paradise, Texas was the perfect location for her to roam and explore. Her stepmom Ashley had family who lived next door. So Athena had a good circle of people who looked out for her. She and her older sister Alice frequently played with their cousins on their property. They had a favorite tree, a fruitless pear tree, that they loved to climb and decorate with ornaments. Their days were often spent riding four wheelers, playing hide and seek, and splashing around in the family barn. Athena loved unicorns, mermaids, barbies, the color pink, and of course the animated Disney movie frozen. Athena's father said that she was the most adventurous little girl in the world, and although she was a girly girl, wearing dresses and playing with makeup, she had no problem going outside and getting dirty. He later described a memory that always made him smile. She said it was springtime, it was still cold out. Athena was running around outside wearing a dress in cowboy boots. Jacob walked over, and he found her sitting in the horse trough, playing with her barbies in the container of water. Her dress was soaking wet, but she was having the time of her life. That summer, Jacob and Athena went camping and hiking together. She followed him around on the property, no matter what he was doing, just to spend as much time with him as she could. But towards the end of that summer, Athena was really excited. She was set to start first grade at Paradise Elementary School, and she couldn't wait. On her first day, she wore a blue dress adorned with pink flowers, and a light pink backpack. Her dad snapped a picture of her that morning, smiling happily at the family's front door. Here is what her teacher, Ms. Lindsay Thompson, had to say about her. The first time I met Athena was at me at the teacher's night, and her step mom brought her in, and I've finally remembered her coming in. She had all of her supplies, she was so excited about being at school, and I can still remember her just standing there and just excited to be there, and that was the first time that I met Athena. I adored Athena. She was so much fun. She was a free spirit. She loved drawing. She loved to write. She loved to color. She was just your typical, you know, seven-year-old little girl that just loved life, and she would come in with, you know, stickers on her hands, and she loved to dress up. Like, she truly was a free spirit. Like, there's no other word to describe her. Like, she definitely was a true gym. Ms. Thompson said that Athena was a really special girl. Everyone loved her. She made friends easily. She said, quote, "She's the one that would stand up for herself," and she would speak her mind when she wanted to. She loved to talk and socialize with her friends, but that just made her who she was, unquote. There was also a special needs boy in her classroom. And Athena was the first one who made an effort to be friends with him. She played with him on the playground and helped make him feel welcomed and accepted. Ms. Thompson said, quote, "She opened her arms to him. She had a big heart. That's just who she was," unquote. In October of 2022, as Halloween approached, Paradise Elementary School celebrated with Red Ribbon Week, Athena's teacher explained, "We focus on making good choices whether it be who we interact with or things we put in our body. It's around Halloween, so we talk a lot about, you know, the candy that you have in your basket. Make sure that your parent checks that before, but it's really about safety and being aware of your surroundings." Athena understood the concept of stranger danger, and in her homework lesson at the end of the week, she wrote in a journal about what she had learned. Be aware of your surroundings and don't talk to strangers. As Halloween approached, Athena grew excited. She enjoyed dressing up, and when the day arrived, she wore a hoax-pocus shirt to celebrate. In late November 2022, Athena enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday with her family. She even went back to Comanche, Oklahoma, to spend the weekend with her mother and little sister. When it was finally time to go back home to Paradise, Texas, she didn't want to. Not because she didn't love her father or her life in Texas, she just really missed her mom. Now, Madeleine still saw Athena every weekend, so it would only be a few more days until they were reunited. Yet, as a little kid, a few days can feel like an eternity. But from there, on Sunday, November 27th, Madeleine and Jacob met up at a convenience store in Bowie, Texas. Athena hopped in her dad's car. Madeleine leaned inside and told Athena, "I love you. I'll see you on Friday." And with that, she shut the door. Madeleine said their goodbye was rushed. Apparently, Jacob planned on taking the girls to see Christmas lights that night, and they were in a hurry. She said, "It's not the goodbye that I would have wanted." Of course, she never knew, as she drove away from the convenience store, that she would never see her daughter again. The following day, Monday, November 28th, Athena returned to Paradise Elementary. That week was chaotic, her teacher admitted, with all the children winding down from break and preparing for the Christmas holiday ahead. "Well, at the end of November, we are getting ready for Christmas, so it's a little bit chaotic, but everyone is super excited about Christmas coming, so we're doing Christmas crafts, riding sandal letters, just all the fun things that bring magic to the first graders back at school." At the Strand Family Home, things were also a bit chaotic. Jacob had been working hard on renovations. Athena and her older step sister, Alice, were temporarily sleeping in a small storage shed that had been converted into a bedroom until the project was finished. But it was a good kind of chaotic. Everyone was happy. On Wednesday, November 30th, Athena and her friends were excited for the upcoming Christmas holiday. So much so, she couldn't seem to focus on her schoolwork. During class, she kept talking during the lesson. Her teacher, Miss Thompson, had to pull her aside. Within Athena's journal, she wrote, "I can be a good listener by raising my hand." It's a lesson that many elementary school kids struggle with, but at the end of the school day, Miss Thompson pulled Athena in for a hug and told her, "I love you, and we will have a better day tomorrow. However, tomorrow would never come." That day, Athena rode the bus home from school. She was dropped off at her father's house around 4.20 pm. Now Jacob had planned to go on a hunting trip and South Texas with his father that day, he wanted to say goodbye to all of his children before he left. Jacob left shortly before dark, leaving his wife Ashley to take care of the kids. Now Athena's older sister Alice had gone to her aunt's house next door to finish her homework. So Athena played outside by herself. At one point, she stood at the window waving at her baby sister inside. But shortly before 6 pm, Ashley started to cook dinner. She yelled for Athena who came running in, and it's there, where she reminded her that she had some chores to do. There was a pile of laundry in Athena's bedroom that wasn't going to fold itself. But like any little girl, chores was the last thing Athena wanted to do. There was a whole world of fun waiting for her outside, and there were still a few minutes of daylight left. So, as Ashley turned her back to finish dinner, Athena quietly slipped back outside. With Athena's baby sister on Ashley's hip, she started to prepare a meal of trout in couscous. Around 6 pm, Ashley made her way to Athena's bedroom to check on her. She expected to see her inside folding her laundry. But when Ashley opened the door, the room was empty. Now as we mentioned earlier, Ashley's brother and sister-in-law Heather lived next door. So her first thought was that Athena had wandered over to their house. She called Heather and asked if Athena was over there, but to her dismay, she said no. At this point, darkness was falling over Paradise Texas, and more ways than one. Ashley began searching the property looking for Athena. She ran to the tree where Athena and her cousins love to play. Ashley saw toys scattered all around it, but no Athena. Next, she started running all over the property, searching every nook and cranny that she could think of. But around every tree, every corner, Athena was nowhere to be found. In a panic, Ashley rushed back inside and called Athena's father Jacob. He was still on the way to South Texas for that hunting trip, but upon learning that his daughter was missing, she turned the car around and told Ashley to call 911. So she did. And shortly before 7 pm, the first officer arrived at 268 County Road, 3573. By the time they got there, Ashley and other family members were desperately searching the property for the 7-year-old girl. They hoped she was playing hide and seek, a game Athena really loved and was good at. Her father Jacob recalled the time that Athena hid inside a linen closet with everything pushed in front of her for roughly 20 minutes. By the time Jacob arrived back home, he started searching everywhere. He knew the property well. His family had owned it since he was 8 years old. So he spent the next few hours combing through every inch of the 6 acres. With help from police, the Wise County Fire Department and EMS, it was all hands on deck to locate Athena. Helicopters wore it overhead while the desperate search continued on the ground. The media was also alerted, but back in Comanche, Oklahoma, Maitland's phone was dead. And every call in text from Jacob went unanswered. fire. And she just, I opened the door and she said, I think it's missing. And immediately I said, no, she's not. So I went and got my phone. And Jacob's name popped up on my phone. Mateline wasted no time. She got into her car and drove to Paradise, staying on the phone with Jacob almost the entire time. Now, the drive typically took two hours, but she made it in just 45 minutes. On my way down to Jacob's house, I stayed on the phone with him. Pretty well missed, for the way until I got to about Ryan up on home. And then I just, it felt like I was dying. I couldn't breathe. But I knew I had to keep going. I almost tapped the brakes because I thought I was having a heart attack. But I just told myself that if I kept going, it would be okay. And I would find her. By the time Mateline made it, she quickly pulled into the gravel driveway that led to Jacob's house, a driveway that was now full of first responders. She got out of the car to run forward, but an officer stopped her. She told him who she was, pleading with him to let her through, but he refused. K-9 units were actively searching, he explained, and her scent could throw off the dogs. Mateline then had no choice but to wait in her Jeep until the dogs cleared the area around 4 a.m. At 4 o'clock in the morning on Saturday, December 1st, an officer had told me that they had taken away the dogs and I could get out of the vehicle and I asked him, can I search myself? He said yes. So, Ashley's dad, Jacob's dad, my dad, my uncle, and Jacob and I went out and searched all of Jacob's property and the surrounding properties, even though all of those people were probably sound asleep in their own beds and we didn't ask permission. And later that day, when more volunteers had come out, more officers arrived, I had talked to a few, a few different investigators throughout the time. I walked line-ups, I walked that county road over and over and over again. I searched Jacob's ponds, but she wasn't there. On the morning of Thursday, December 1st, 2022, as the citizens of Paradise and surrounding towns woke up and heard the news that the little girl was still missing, hundreds of volunteers joined the search. The clock was ticking. Nightfall promised freezing temperatures and everyone knew that with each passing hour, time was running out. The story quickly made local and national headlines. Take a look at your screen. This is 7-year-old Athena Strand. She's been missing since last night and right now there's a massive search effort underway to find her. Our Kennedy Walker is live and wise, counting near the girl's home with the latest on the efforts to bring her home safely. So, Kennedy, what's the latest? Hey, good morning, Karen. This is every parent's worst nightmare. 7-year-old Athena Strand was last seen right here at her home. Right now, I am standing at the command center. This is where all the volunteers are coming in to check in to come help find her. And I want you guys to just see her photo, her mom told police that around 640 last night, she went to check on Athena, but she was not there. She was last seen wearing a plaid jacket, jeans and boots. The police began their search last night, but did not have any luck. So they came back this morning and this morning the Sheriff's Department and several other law enforcement agencies are combing through the woods to find her. Now hundreds of people have come out to help out, including one woman who says she felt compelled to help because it reminded her of her own daughter and Sheriff Lane Akin says that they will continue searching for Athena no matter how long it takes. We're looking at everything from a criminal standpoint or just a missing child. So we're not going to leave anything unturned and we're not going to put the blinder zone. It could be any number of things. We're looking at all of those possibilities. Honestly, as a mother, all I can think about is what her parents are feeling how lost and how cold and scared she must be. And that's kind of all I've got in my head right now and why I wanted to get out here and join the search. Now many parents were emotional just like that woman that you just heard from and Karen, the community response has been amazing. Here it is 11 a.m. on a Thursday. Usually people are at worker at school, but instead they are right here in Wise County trying to help find seven year old Athena. Now the sheriff is asking anyone who could potentially have any information to call authorities immediately back to you. Oh, let's hope they find her soon. Thank you so much. That morning at Paradise Elementary, Athena's desk was empty. Her friends and classmates were upset and her teacher, Ms. Thompson said it was extremely difficult. She said, quote, "Everyone knew she was not there. I was still having to count her absent. A lot of kids you could tell their anxiety like they were worried. They knew something was wrong." And as the hours passed, everyone's anxiety grew stronger. Now believe it or not, authorities had not yet issued an amber alert for Athena. Apparently in the beginning of the investigation, they believed she had wandered off after arguing with her stepmom about laundry. So they didn't think she met the criteria for an amber alert. However now, with her still being unaccounted for, authorities were starting to think that they may be dealing with a child abduction. So finally, the amber alert was issued. The alert described Athena as four feet tall, weighing about 65 pounds, with 30 blonde hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing washed out blue jeans with white flowers embroidered around the front pockets, a gray long sleeve shirt with white flowers and brown boots. Her ears were pierced, but she wasn't wearing earrings, and she had two red birthmarks on her lower back. Now, by Thursday evening, the Wise County Sheriff's Office had notified the FBI for assistance. Meanwhile, her family felt completely helpless as they waited for answers. That evening, Athena's mother, Maetlan, turned to social media for help. On her Facebook page, she posted, "Athena is still missing, and we are now over the 24-hour point. Thank you to my wonderful family and the large support from the Wise County community. We are continuing our search. I ask that everyone pray. Pray some more, continue to pray, and never stop praying. I cannot live without my baby and need her brought home safely to me. Athena didn't walk away or disappear on her own. I will not give up or stop until I have Athena back." By Friday, December 2nd, they were now on their second day, with no sign of Athena strand. And strangely enough, even though there were hundreds of people at the strand property ready to help in the search, investigators sent everyone home. They didn't give anyone a reason as to why. But behind the scenes, once the FBI entered the picture, they were starting to make some headway in their investigation. And it all began with something that was left at the strand residence on the night Athena disappeared, a brown FedEx delivery box. Inside the box was Athena's Christmas present, a six pack of "You Can Be Anything", Barbie dolls. Now the box wasn't delivered to the strand's front door. Instead, it was dropped off on the side of an abandoned trailer on the property. Athena's stepmom Ashley had tracked the package. And discovered it was delivered around the same time Athena went missing. So investigators quickly contacted the local FedEx to get some more information. Maybe the driver saw something. Maybe they could help give them some answers. Now after a little digging, they learned that the delivery was made by a third-party company called Big Topspin. The company contracts with FedEx during peak delivery seasons. And with the Christmas holiday approaching and the aftermath of Black Friday, they had a lot of deliveries on their hands. But eventually they locate the FedEx truck that made the delivery to the strand house. And the driver of that truck was 31-year-old Tanner Horner. Hoping to get some answers, Tanner's supervisor at Big Topspin called him and asked if he remember delivering a package to 268 County Road. Tanner said he couldn't remember. He delivers a lot of packages. It's hard to recall every single one. But Tanner did agree to come to the police station later that day. He wanted to help. Hours later, when he came in and spoke to investigators, he told them, "You know, I was driving through town today and I saw a lot of police outside of this home." After seeing it, I suddenly remembered. I did deliver a package to that house the other day. The investigators perked up a bit. Tanner said that the house was run down. He said he never saw a little girl outside. But he did see something. Tanner told investigators that he remembered seeing a car pull out of the driveway as he was delivering the package. It was an older green Chevy Astro that had sunspots all over it. Immediately after receiving this information, investigators began looking for this so-called car. Now the car didn't match anyone. car and Athena's family, so maybe it was someone in town who drove by and abducted Athena. But while a group of investigators began following that lead, another group kept their eyes on Tanner Horner, the FedEx driver. They had to check every box, and there was something within Tanner's records that they couldn't ignore. You see, Tanner admitted to delivering those Barbies to Athena's house that day, but when they looked at his records, he marked the package as undelivered. Even further, Tanner had several more deliveries to make after Athena's house, but those packages wouldn't be delivered until the following day. So why the delay? Investigators had Tanner come to the station again, and they asked him about that. Why didn't you deliver those packages? But Tanner hadn't answered for them. He claimed that after delivering to the Strandhouse, he got really sick, so sick that he had to pull over at a love's truck stop where he vomited. Now, the agents were sensing some deception, but they continued with the interview. Changing the subject, they showed him a photograph of a green Chevy Astro van. They asked him, "Is this similar to the one you saw leaving the Strand driveway in the evening Athena disappeared?" Tanner told them it was similar. Now, shortly after this, their interview came to an end. The agents watched as Tanner left the station, but it was hard to ignore the feeling that he had something to do with this. That feeling grew even stronger when they watched him get into his truck. Agent McGuire, who conducted his interview, said that Tanner was visibly nervous. Then, they watched as he hopped into his FedEx truck and then backed up into a tree. Exit of the driver's seat looked at the rear of the truck and then got back into the vehicle and left. Did you find that odd given what you just talked about? Yes, sir. Did he say to be paying close attention to what he was doing with that? No, sir. It was strange. Tanner Horner seemed nervous. So much so, he didn't even notice the tree as he backed out. To the agents, this looked like a man who the walls were closing in on. And as you've likely concluded, that green card that Tanner said he saw leaving the strand residents, well, it didn't exist. Tanner was trying to lead investigators away from him. And they were about to learn why. You see, not only were their discrepancies within Tanner's delivery records, but FedEx actually confirmed that Tanner's delivery truck was equipped with cameras. Velocitor, the third party company that installed the cameras, was contacted by the FBI and they immediately handed over the footage. Investigators started looking through it on the night that Athena disappeared. Now, it only recorded in one minute increments, but they are on the screen. They saw the driver, Tanner Horner. He was an average looking man in his early 30s. His ears are pierced. He's wearing a flat bill hat in a FedEx long sleeve shirt. For the majority of the footage, he was seen driving, grabbing packages from the back and delivering them. But then, they found what they were looking for. In the video, Tanner is sitting in the seat, like he had been that entire day. His hands are on the wheel. His seatbelt is on. However, standing behind him in the cargo area of the truck is seven-year-old Athena Strand. Finally, after 48 hours, they had the answers they were looking for. Tanner Lin Horner was a 31-year-old average guy. He had a fiance and a child. He had no criminal record. But now, he was the suspect in a missing child case. However, at this point, there was no indication that Athena had been harmed. The only evidence they had showed her inside his truck, alive, talking, and seemingly well. So, they hoped that Athena was still alive. A search warrant was then quickly obtained for Tanner's residence. And on December 2, 2022, around 3.30 pm, members of the SWAT team and the Texas Rangers surrounded the house on Somerville Place Road. The photographs showed Tanner's room in complete disarray. Clothes, garbage, and children's toys were scattered across the floor. An investigator noted that the space smelled of rotting food and trash. Even outside of the room, large amounts of trash had accumulated. As the police presence grew around his home, neighbors were shocked. Rumors began to spread on Facebook that it was connected to the disappearance of Athena Strand. One neighbor claimed it freaked her out, and another said, "You kind of forget that you never know who your neighbor is." But Tanner was found near the residence and was taken to the police station for questioning without incident. Inside an interrogation room, Tanner knew that he was in big trouble, and he seemed to know exactly why. When they asked why the missing Athena Strand was seen in the back of his FedEx truck, he even offered an explanation. Tanner told investigator Joseph Oliver and Texas Ranger Joe Bespinosa that the days started out like any other. He had been delivering packages along his route. Towards the end of the workday, he delivered a package to 268 County Road 3573. He had just placed the package outside of the abandoned trailer on the property, and that's where everything went wrong. He said he was backing his truck out when he accidentally hit something. Tanner said that he got out of his truck to see that the thing he hit was a little girl. Now, he admitted that she was not seriously injured, but he panicked. It's my first encounter in the work, like, everything wasn't all I didn't know what to do. According to Tanner, as they drove down the road, Athena seemed to know that she was in danger. She asked him, "Are you a kidnapper?" Tanner told her no. She kept asking where he was taking her, but he couldn't seem to give her an answer, so he kept changing the subject, asking her random questions. She didn't want to choose a sweet kid. I was driving around for a bunch of street food, but you're on what I was going to do about the situation, and what she did. The last thing the question was, we were just talking at this point. Yeah, she said in the manner that she's standing up because she was in the passenger seat, where she was standing out and she's in the back. Okay. What she asked me? Just random things, but I just had a talk, and it was, I don't know. When you were talking to her, did she tell you her name? Yeah, that's her name. Athena? Okay. Did she tell you her phone name? Or did she just know her name? Did she tell you her last name or anything? No, she didn't. I mean, her last name. So she just told you her name is Athena? Right, which I actually thought that was pretty cool, because, you know, like, your apology and stuff would do that. Yep. According to him, Athena threatened to tell her father about how he hid her with his truck. Tanner said he was scared, and as he drove down a private dirt road, a voice inside his head repeatedly told him to hurt Athena in order to save himself. Now, when pressed for more information on that, he hesitated. Texas Ranger Espanosa pulled his chair closer and told him it was okay to speak. Get it off your chest. We went on this prayer round end and I listened to that little voice at the end. Tanner said he listened to the voice in his head, and he tried to make her death as quick as possible. He attempted to break her neck, but it didn't work. Athena started crying. Then, using his bare hands, he said he strangled the seven-year-old child to death, in the back of the FedEx truck. He used to hold her to turn around, and he rushed me to the shelter. One hand or two hands. So, could you, but was she facing a wife when you went to the shelter? And so I was like, "I tried good." Well, you tried to break her neck? I tried to break her neck, making it as quickly as possible, but it didn't work. She's alright. Next, Tanner talks about what he did after killing Athena. After she stopped moving, Tanner stated that he kept her body in the back of the truck and started driving down a secluded area off a dirt road when he saw some bamboo. He said he decided to toss her in it. As for why he murdered her, he said he feared losing his job, his family, and his only source of income. If anyone found out he accidentally hit her, his life was over. It's very clear what's on everyone's mind at this point. Tanner claimed he did what he did because he was scared about getting in trouble, but the more obvious reason is that he did it because of a sexual motivation. Now following this interview, investigators asked him where Athena was, and Tanner responded, "I can show you." From there, he led them to a remote area in town with sick vegetation. But after coming through the brush, Athena wasn't there. Next, Tanner led them to another location in town, but she wasn't there either. Their patience was growing thin. But finally, on Friday, December 2, 2022, two days after Athena was reported missing, Tanner gave them the correct location. Investigators then made their way to a rural area near the Trinity River. It was about nine miles away from Athena's home. In there, in the water, they found her. FBI agent Dave Rogers would later say, "I remember her being really cold to the touch, firm, and with the lights and everything on the skin, her skin appeared to be glistening, kind of angel-like." Athena's family members were at the Cottonville Baptist Church when her body was found. Wise County Sheriff Lane Aiken was tasked with delivering the news. He had 50 years of law enforcement expertise, and even then, it didn't make it any easier. "So we felt like we knew where she was, but we weren't sure. And so we got the family into that church, and there was a room off to the side away from the assembly hall. I went in with them and told them that it's not looking good, but we're not sure. So I asked them to give me about 30 minutes, and I would come back to the Dr. Green, the truth back to them, and what the findings were. So I went with the SAG from FBI. I went down to Vovocrossing and that bridge, and we both went down to the river, and that allowed me the opportunity to tell them exactly what was true. Because it's something that's really hard to do. But my focus was that family. I wanted them to know before any of the media. I wanted them to know, and so they gave me the opportunity to go back and have that second meeting with the family. And it was heartbreaking. And they were devastated. I don't know. There were probably eight or ten members of the family in there, and it was a Sunday school room, classroom. Now, I wish I could have done something to make it better, because we were hoping right to the last minute we were hoping that she was alive and well. The information I brought back was not what they wanted to hear. Even before the words came out of his mouth, Meetlin knew. She would later say, quote, "It's hard to look people in the face when you're giving them the worst news of your life. And so I knew when he walked into the room, and he was looking down, and he had his lips rolled in. I don't remember what he said. I just remember feeling broken and empty, and I couldn't breathe. I literally stopped breathing. It took my dad and the FBI trauma agent to make me start breathing again. I don't know how to describe that feeling, and I think a lot of people in those experiences try to block it out. I just remember the feeling of not being able to breathe." But when Meetlin finally could catch her breath, she had a hard time believing this was her reality. She wanted proof that who they found was her daughter. She wanted to see her with her own eyes, but Sheriff Akin refused. He told her that Athena no longer looked like her seven-year-old child. "I wanted to tell Sheriff Akin that he didn't know what he was talking about. I asked him if I could confirm that that was my daughter, and he told me no, because she looks too bad. And I went into a place of denial. I stopped breathing, and I started to black out as I heard Ashley screaming. I knew it. I knew it was him." After the discovery of Athena's body, Tanner Horner was transported to the Wise County jail, where he was officially charged with capital murder and aggravated kidnapping. His bond was set at $1.5 million, but now it was time to tell the public about their discovery. "Her body was recovered about two hours ago, maybe three, six miles that direction. It hurts our hearts to know that that child died. So much so that she is on her way now to the medical examiner's office, and there's a Texas Ranger in front of her, and there's a Texas Ranger behind her. This community does not like losing our children, and we can see it because of all the people who came out and helped us do out this ordeal. It was most meaningful what the citizens did, because we have a close knit group of folks here in Wise County. And it's our pleasure to serve these folks in Wise County, the Rangers, the FBI, and the Sheriff's Office. We're glad that we've had this opportunity, but we're just sad that it didn't end the way that we would hope that it would end. We knew early on in the investigation that there had been a FedEx driver made a delivery in front of the house about the same time that little Athena, seven-year-old Athena, came up missing, and continued good work by this investigative team. They were able to determine that the driver abducted Athena. This driver is a contract driver, and his name is Tanner Lynn Horner. He's 31, and he's from Lake Worth. He's in the Wise County jail right now because of the good work of these people and all the folks out there who have helped. That day, mainland posted an update on Facebook saying, "I don't want her to be the girl known as the one murdered and discarded by a monster. I want everyone to know every single person in this world that this is my baby and my baby was taken from me. I want everyone to know her face and her voice and just how wonderful of a person she is." As the news spread about Athena's murder, the community as well as the entire nation was heartbroken. For her classmates at Paradise Elementary, they were forced to face a horrifying truth that no seven-year-old should even have to think about. Her parents had to sit them down and explain to them that there are bad people in the world, and that one of those bad people killed their friend in classmate, associate pastor Phil Erickson, who had a son in Athena's class, told the Fort Worth Star Telegram, "We got my boys around, and when I told him, his eyes just widened and his head just dropped." He started crying, end quote. Many of Athena's friends had the same reaction, in our first grade class, Athena made her presence known. She was bright, friendly, and talkative. And on Monday, December 5th, 2022, when students returned to Paradise Elementary, her desk sat empty once again. This time, they all knew she was gone. Her teacher, Ms. Thompson, said that they had a lot of resources for the children, but even so, it was a really difficult day. You know, as six and seven-year-olds, they have a really hard time understanding the loss of a friend. We did a lot of grief, grief groups, and we read stories just trying to help them start that grieving and healing process. And in this particular situation, are they aware of what it happened to her? Yes, they were. So they know that she was taken against your will in Mark? Yes. And these kids are how old? Six and seven. That week, over 25 school districts in the area announced that in honor of Athena, students and teachers would wear pink, her favorite color. They called it a pink out, and the community of Paradise followed, lighting up the entire town with pink bows, flowers, balloons, and hearts. It's hard to miss all of the pink spread throughout the community on the road heading from Boyd into Paradise. We just wanted to show support for the Strand family. You know, it's a tight-knit community around here, even though it's one town over, we're all family. Heather King is just one of at least a dozen neighbors who traveled around town Sunday, decorating with pink ribbons, balloons, anything pink they could find. Pink was Athena Strand's favorite color. Now the community is lit up in pink in memory of her. We're gonna focus on her and the good things and the love that she brought, and we're not gonna focus on the tragic. This is not what we want our town to be remembered by. We're a loving community. We don't want this tattooed on our city. On Tuesday, December 6, 2022, a candlelight vigil was held at the first Baptist Church of Cottondale, where a huge pink cross was put up. Thousands of people came wearing pink shirts, where they prayed, saying, "In lit candles to mourn the loss of an innocent child." If you're wondering what love, "But my heart and prayers go out to Athena's mom and her family." Or support feels like they look no further than the front lawn of first Baptist Cottondale. "Just overwhelming all the candles and all the love." It's where thousands squeezed together along a small country road to remember Athena Strand Tuesday night. "I don't know how to thank you guys for all that you'll have done for my family, but especially for my baby." It is where the mother of Athena spoke publicly for the first time since her little girl was taken from her last week. "And I just want to keep her face and her story alive because I want everyone to know Athena for Athena and not for what someone tried to make her out to be. 'Cause she's the best little girl she really was." Photos of the first grader line the front of the stage just pink illuminated the night sky. Athena's favorite color, a Christmas angel placed on the stage representing the seven-year-old. "He brought her into his heavenly home where there is no hate, where there is no hurt." "Every single one of my students plays an important role in our classroom family, and now we are missing one of those important people." Strand's teacher also spoke. They knew each other for only a few months, but this loving smile left a lasting impression. "I now have 18 of my favorite six and seven-year-olds that are sad and hurting because they no longer have a friend and classmate." "It's hard to put into words how much this community is hurting." "You're making me cross anything as strong, so I needed to be strong for her." Or how much this mother is hurting, but her one wish, her one request, is simple, as she and her family await justice. "I don't care if it's five years from now, ten years from now, twenty years from now, remember Athena Strand." Now that very day was the first day that Madeleine was finally allowed to see her daughter. She arrived at the funeral home at 8 a.m., she had actually told Athena's father Jacob to get there at 9 a.m., Madeleine arrived an hour early because she wanted to see what Athena's body would look like before Jacob arrived. When she walked into the room that morning, nothing could have prepared her for what she saw. The lifeless body of her daughter had scrapes, cuts, and handprint bruises around her neck. Her ears were messed up and she had incision lines and her chin was scraped up. And so we put her in a hospital gown because I didn't have clothes for her when she was naked. And that searched her body looking for any reason that that wasn't high baby. And then we did her makeup. So Jacob wouldn't have to see the discoloration and how bad it was. I don't want to make a guess that the thing that didn't stay in that little gown very long, bitch. You know she did not. It wasn't pretty enough. Tell her what mom does to do with big stuff. Well, I wasn't from wise county. I didn't know where to go or what to do. And I couldn't sleep. So I wandered around Walmart until I found a few dresses to pick from and I wanted to make sure that she was just, when I got to her, she was so cold and she didn't like the cold. So I wanted to make sure that she was dressed. So I picked out clothes. I picked out socks and panties and shoes and leggings and dressers. And I wanted to make sure she had worn her bows. I got her some bows. On December 9th, Athena Strand was officially laid to rest. A company named Soul Shine Industries made a custom pink casket for her. The same company actually made custom caskets for 19 of the children murdered in Yvaldi. So they do great work. Maintenance later shared photos of the casket and said, Jacob and I, as well as Athena's entire family, would like to thank Tray with Soul Shine Industries. He helped us capture our Viking princess in a way we didn't think was possible. Athena looked very comfortable in her bed. But that day, they finally said their goodbyes to their angel who was taken far too soon. From there, even though it seemed like life was moving forward, no one forgot about Athena. At school, her teacher, Ms. Thompson, placed a mailbox outside the first grade classroom for students to write letters and draw pictures for Athena. Eventually, it was moved inside the classroom, but the students said it reminded them too much of what happened to her. The mailbox was moved again, this time to the front office, where students continued to write letters throughout the rest of the school year. Ms. Thompson said there were over 100 letters and drawings by the end of the year. As for how it affected her, she said she had to go through counseling. And now, she makes sure to give her students hugs before they leave for the day. I have been through hours of therapy, trying to heal from this. It has forever changed my life, forever changed how I teach my kids. One of the biggest moments to struggle for me was one day I had a little girl. She came out into the hall. This was about three months after everything and she was crying. And she sat down and she said, Ms. Thompson, I really miss Athena, but I'm afraid that this is going to happen to me too. Ms. Thompson said she didn't even know how to respond. How can you? In January of 2023, Mattel donated 2,000 Barbie dolls and other toys to cook children's medical center and Fort Worth in honor of Athena. Her mother, Matlin, specifically chose the hospital because Athena had been hospitalized there for three days in September 2022, and she had a great experience. Devastatingly, in the month after Athena's death, her sister, who was around four years old, kept asking about Athena, but Matlin couldn't bring herself to tell her the truth about what happened. I didn't know how to tell her and I didn't think I was strong enough to tell her. So I lied to her for a long time. I would tell her that she just just stay in with her daddy for a little bit longer. And when she asked her face timer for to call her, I would tell her that she was at school or she was sleeping. Matlin continued telling her daughter this for months. It was just easier than facing their horrible reality. For Athena's father, Jacob, he turned to alcohol to cope. He had trouble sleeping at night and refuting. to eat. He admitted that the stress of all of it caused him to lose 50 pounds. His relationship with his wife Ashley began to crumble. Athena's older sister Alice began going to therapy, but she continued to suffer from horrific nightmares, replaying what happened to her sister, her best friend. Her grades began to slip. She stopped trusting others, and when a delivery driver pulled into their driveway, she would run and hide. Athena's stepmother Ashley said she was no longer the same person. She too had a hard time trusting people, and many around Paradise Texas said the same thing. After the incident, FedEx released a statement saying, "Words cannot describe our shock and sorrow at the reports surrounding this tragic event. First and foremost, our thoughts are with the family during this most difficult time, and we continue to cooperate fully with the investigating authorities. At this time, any further questions should be directed to law enforcement." Now, people usually love delivery drivers. For decades, we've trusted them to drop off packages safely at our homes, something that rarely raises concern. But after Athena's murder, that sense of trust was broken. When someone pulled into a driveway with a package, neighbors called their children inside. Others watched the drivers with suspicion. FedEx, Amazon, UPS, and other companies started a campaign on social media with the slogan, "Your babies are safe on my route," desperately hoping to regain the public's trust. Now, Athena's father Jacob filed a wrongful death lawsuit against FedEx, and big topspin citing negligence in assault. The lawsuit alleged that both companies failed to properly investigate Tanner's background, including his mental health history and previous employment, and that they did not adequately supervise him. Jacob's attorney said the family wanted to prevent billion dollar organizations from insulating themselves from liability by using fly-by-night contractors instead of acknowledging the responsibility they bear when they trust them to come on to our property, to our doorsteps, and even inside our homes. Jacob was seeking $1 million in damages, the maximum allowed by law. FedEx responded by stating that its drivers undergo criminal background checks, and that Tanner Horner had no prior record. And the months after Athena's death, people were also calling for a change in amber alerts. At the time, an alert was only issued if authorities believed a child had been abducted. As we mentioned earlier, Athena's alert was delayed because they believed she wandered off after arguing with her stepmom, and during that time precious hours were lost. So in June of 2023, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the Athena Alert bill into law, allowing amber alerts to be sent out quickly in cases involving missing children. The new alert would be issued within a 100-mile radius of the disappearance and to neighboring counties. Athena's mother said, quote, "I would like to thank Governor Abbott and Texas lawmakers for expediting the Athena Alert, and for everyone who supported this life-saving legislation. It has been six months since Athena was killed, and every day has been an indescribable struggle. It gives me comfort to know that Athena's legacy will live on and help save the lives of other Texas children." Month after month changes were being made, but more than anything, the entire nation was waiting for justice. And during that wait, more charges were filed against Athena's killer. In fact, while still incarcerated, Tanner Horner was hit with three additional charges related to sexual assault against a child under the age of 17 in Tarant County. But these charges were unrelated to Athena. They actually stemmed from three separate incidents that occurred in 2013. So clearly, this man was a predator through and through. We will get into all of that here soon. In 2024, Tanner Horner's attorneys filed a motion for a change of venue stating, "The publicity has been inflammatory and created such hostility towards the defendant and has prejudiced the opinions of members of the community to such a degree that it is unlikely a jury could be selected, which could render a verdict solely on the evidence presented at trial." She added, "Mr. Horner believes he cannot and will not get fair and uninformed jurors who are capable of setting aside the publicity that has occurred, much less ignore the media coverage that will occur once the trial has begun." A few months later in September 2024, a wise county judge agreed, and Tanner's trial would be moved to neighboring Tarant County. Tanner's defense attorneys, Susan Anderson and Steve Goble, also sought to remove the death penalty as a possible sentence, citing his autism diagnosis. They argued that it "reduces his moral blameworthiness, negates the retributive and deterrent purposes of capital punishment and exposes him to the unacceptable risk that he will be wrongfully sentenced to death." However, the judge denied the motion to remove the death penalty. For the next few years, we all waited patiently for his day in court, which began just recently in April of 2026. Now, for the past month, I have been following this case, watching hours and hours of court footage every single day, and the information that has been released is more disturbing than you could ever even imagine. In the beginning, the story surrounding Athena's case was that Tanner Horner was delivering a package to her house when he accidentally hit her with his truck. Then, in a panic, he abducted and killed her, not wanting to get in trouble. He claimed his motive was self-preservation, but for years, many people were questioning whether that was true. And as you've likely concluded, it's not. During his trial, it's been revealed that Tanner Horner's motivations were much darker, and Athena's last few moments of life were absolutely horrific. Now, up until this part of the episode, we've walked you through the case from the public's perspective over the last few years. But for the remainder of the episode, we are going to tell you all of the details that came out during Tanner Horner's trial. In trigger warning, it is incredibly hard to hear. When Tanner Horner was first charged in the case, he pleaded not guilty. But years later, on April 7, 2026, he stood in front of Judge George Gallagher and stunned the courtroom with a sudden change to his plea. With Tanner admitting guilt, the jury would now have to decide whether he would spend the rest of his life in prison or be sentenced to death, which meant details of the case would still have to be discussed in court. During opening statements, Wise County District Attorney James Stanton warned the jury that the details of this case were going to be hard to hear. No one, though, was prepared for what was about to be revealed. That's a bit of a chaotic time for a teacher. They just got back, and what have I looking forward to? Christmas. Right. And who's arriving Christmas? What I like to call the modern day Santa Claus. Amazon. Right. FedEx. UPS. When Tanner Horner rolled up that day, he rolled up a lot. He rolled up bringing what we thought would be joy and happiness and a package. And you're going to see the package and you're going to see what he was bringing. Why wouldn't a thing to be happy to see the FedEx guy, right? It's got a Walmart works. Well, that's not what he brought that day. What you're going to see is that he brought violence, fear, and death. That's what he brought with him. So first off, I want to apologize to y'all what we're going to have to bring you. The evidence in this case is rough. It is not what I want to show anyone, but it's what's required. It's what's required to show you what he did. Back in November of 2022, Tanner Horner was delivering packages to people all over Paradise, Texas. At trial, the prosecution showed video from inside his FedEx truck. Video that showed him looking completely normal. In between delivering packages, it showed him listening to music, singing along to the different songs, and occasionally smoking cigarettes. But in the days before Athena's murder, it showed something particularly disturbing. Just down the street from Athena's home was the Huffman family. They also had two young girls who often played in the front yard, just like Athena did. Girls who were around Athena's age. And just three days before Athena's murder, Tanner Horner showed up to the Huffman house to deliver a package. But before arriving at the house, Tanner did something completely out of the ordinary. He used a sticky note to cover the front facing camera of the FedEx truck. Now, why he covered it? We don't know. He had never done that before. But while delivering the package to the Huffman home, Tanner actually spoke to the young girls outside. He rolled down his window and yelled out to them, asking if they could get an adult to come get the package. And that's exactly what they did. Moments later, the girl's father Kevin Huffman stepped outside. Tanner handed him the package. He told Kevin he didn't want to spoil the girl's Christmas present, so he didn't want to deliver it while the girls were standing there. It seemed like a really thoughtful gesture. Kevin Huffman would later say that there was nothing suspicious about Tanner. He had no reason to believe this was a bad guy. Of course, he didn't know that Tanner Tanner had covered up his camera before driving onto his property, or that in just a few days, he'd murder the little girl across the street. Now after this, Tanner continued with his delivery routine, but on November 29th, 2022, just like he had done a few days prior before delivering to the Huffman House, Tanner once again covered his front-facing camera with a sticky note. Why? Again, we don't know. The Tanner claimed it was a normal delivery day. That is until he pulled up to the Strand House. He said that after delivering their package, he was backing up out of the driveway when he accidentally hit something. He got out of the truck to see that it was a little girl. Not wanting to get in trouble, he picked her up and put her into the truck. There's a haunting image from this case that you've likely seen. It's of Athena Strand standing in the cargo area, as Tanner Horner drives off down the road. But looking at that image, Tanner's story doesn't make much sense. If he did hit her with his truck, you would think you'd see an injured Athena. Perhaps she'd be crying, maybe bruised up or bleeding, but that wasn't the case. Athena is seen kneeling in the back of the truck, completely fine. She's not crying, she has no visible injuries at all. Because Tanner's version of events was a complete lie. But evening, as he pulled into the Strand's driveway, he saw Athena on the property. You can see him looking around, eyeing her. He then gets out of the car and drops off her package. Now he covered his front facing camera, but the camera inside the truck was still rolling. And it showed that he didn't hit her with his car. He didn't have to abduct her to save himself. Athena was seen at the back of his vehicle, unharmed, when he grabbed her, lifted her up, placed her in the back of the truck and then closed the door. Then, the truck's camera captured him saying this. "The first thing Tanner Horner says is to Athena, when he picks her up, he puts her in that truck. He leans down and he says, 'Don't scream or I'll hurt you,' it says that twice." After abducting Athena, Tanner Horner took off down the road, further and further away from her house. Athena is clearly terrified. She asks him over and over, where are we going? He yells at her to sit down. It doesn't matter, he says. Athena steps closer to him, nailing down behind him in the cargo area of the truck. And she asks him multiple times, are you a kidnapper? Now we talked about that image of her kneeling down behind him. Sadly, that's the last image we have of her. Because shortly after that, Tanner covered the camera inside the truck with another sticky note. And because he covered it, we don't know exactly what happened next. However, the audio is still rolling. It's never been released to the public, but it was played in court. Here is what the district attorney told the jury, a Tanner's trial. But audio is still running, and you're going to hear it. You're going to hear what a 250-pound man can do to a 67-pound child. And when I say it's horrible, I mean it. I've been doing this 25 years, and I promise you, buckle up. Now you're going to be able to hear it all on audio. But I'm going to tell you right now, the one thing you're going to hear of it is something that you can't unhere is the level of fight that a 7-year-old girl has when she's facing down certain death. We talk about warriors in America, and tell you that we'll go right there's warrior. She fought with a scrant of a hundred men. When he first put her in the back of the truck, he threatened her. But now, as they drive down the road, all of a sudden, he became friendly. Tanner began asking her questions. What's your name? What great are you in? Where do you go to school? What are your teachers' names? And Athena answers them. But she's nervous. Why wouldn't she be? She keeps asking where they're going. She asks again if he's a kidnapper. But Tanner keeps asking her questions. You're really pretty. You know that? He says? Now at this point, Tanner pulls the truck over. Athena asks him, "Is this your house?" Tanner replies, "No, I don't live around here." Soon after, Tanner starts the truck again and they take off down the road. Athena asks, "What are we doing?" Tanner says, "Hanging out for a bit." Athena repeatedly asked what they were doing and Tanner told her to hold on. She replied, "Okay." It's here where Tanner pulls the truck over again. Then on the footage, she's her telling Athena to take her shirt off. Athena says no several times. She says, "My mommy says somebody shouldn't be doing this to me. But sadly, based on the audio, she doesn't stop." Trigger warning for this next part, but according to Rebecca Lopez, who was in the courtroom that day, Athena just starts crying for a while. Quote, she asks him several times, "What are you doing?" The poor child says, "Ouch, ouch, ouch, multiple times." She asks him again, "What are you doing?" Quote. "In based on the sounds that came next, it is very clear that Athena was sexually assaulted in the back of that truck. According to the people in the room hearing the audio, you could hear grunting, gagging. And then tragically, you can hear the sounds of him trying to kill her. Tanner calls her a bitch multiple times. There were loud bangs inside the truck, as Athena fought for her life." Now according to Tanner's own confession, and based on Athena's autopsy findings, he tried strangling her. Chief medical examiner Dr. Jessica Dwyer stated that there were internal injuries to the front of Athena's neck and airways. There was also a significant injury to her tongue, likely from biting down on it during the struggle. But after Athena lost consciousness, the footage suggests that Tanner got back into the driver's seat and took off down the road. Rebecca Lopez, who is in the courtroom listening, said, "You can hear her struggle. You can hear her crying. And then it gets quiet. We all assume she's passed. And then all of a sudden, we will hear a gasp. Then we will hear a cry. Then we will hear her groan." So Tanner pulls the car over again, continuing to strangle her. Something eerie they noted was that Tanner was putting his flasher's on on the side of the road, as he strangled Athena. They said you could hear cars passing, people driving by who had no idea what was going on back there. You could hear a struggle again. Then all would go quiet. Then Tanner would get back into the driver's seat and take off down the road once more. But Athena was still alive, and seemed as if the strangulation wasn't working. So it's here. Retainer tried a different method. Rebecca Lopez said, "At one point, you hear stomping and slamming, like he's trying to hurt her more." Dr. Dwyer's findings indicated that Athena had multiple blunt force injuries to her face, head, and neck. Many of the abrasions had a zigzag pattern. It was found on the right side of the forehead, her right temple, the middle of the forehead, above the left eye brow, across both upper eye areas, below the left eye, around her ear, across the nose, and across the midface, including cheeks and upper lip. These findings indicated that Athena suffered repeated blunt force impacts to the head and face. Now, that zigzag pattern that they mentioned either came from the soul of Tanner's shoe, or possibly the floor of the FedEx van, or maybe both. Here at the attack, everything goes quiet again, then Athena starts crying. She's endured so much, she's in pain. During the times when Tanner tried to kill her, she vomited and defecated on herself, but she's still alive. She talks about wanting her mommy. But while she's crying, Tanner is heard yelling at her to shut up, as he drives down the road. He says, "If you don't shut up, I'm going to come back there and hurt you worse." Sterbingly, as Athena is crying in the back of the truck, the song Jingle Bell Rock comes on. With the holidays right around the corner, Christmas music has just started to fill the radio stations. And there, with a seven-year-old girl on the verge of death in the back of his truck, Tanner starts singing along. Eventually, he pulls over for a final time, and it's there where Tanner kills Athena after about an hour of torturing her. Although not described step-by-step, Dr. Dwyer concluded that Athena died as a result of smothering, strangulation, and blunt force trauma. She described her body as "completely congested from the neck up," meaning that blood had pooled in the upper portion of her body due to impaired circulation, consistent with asphyxial injury. There was hemorrhaging in the whites of her eyes, along with injuries to her chest, neck and face. The extent of the trauma was so severe that Dr. Dwyer noted injuries to Athena's neck, head, shoulders, face, the back of her head, and the upper portions of both her back and chest. All of those areas had injuries. She told the jury. Tanner later admitted that after a killing Athena, he drove to a remote part of town. When no cars were around, he dragged her naked body across the road. Then walked to an area called Bobo's Crossing. He then picked her up and tossed her in the water. Now at around 7pm, he finally removed the sticky note from the camera inside his truck. When he does, it shows him back in the driver's seat. He's at a love's gas station. He was there because he needed to clean the back of his truck. Athena's vomit and feces were on the floor in the back cargo area. But he didn't want to leave a paper trail purchasing cleaning supplies. So instead, he walked into the love's gas station and asked the clerk if he could borrow some cleaning material. Surprisingly, she said yes and gave him some disinfecting spray and paper towels. From there, Tanner used it to clean up the back of the truck. Now something to note is that FedEx drivers typically pick up their trucks from the facility, make their deliveries for the day, and then at the end of their day, they will drop the truck back off. The next morning, when they show up to work, they might still have the same truck as the day before, or they might not. It just depends. But Tanner wanted to make sure he kept that same truck. So while driving back to the FedEx facility, he called his supervisor and made a request. "Hey, please, I'm sitting in here as a pilot. I would give me the same truck tomorrow because I kind of smell like barked in here and had a. I think I just named something bad earlier. But I tried to throw it off to the back of the truck, but I'm still getting to work tomorrow, don't worry. But I did need something that I did agree with me and they tried to take me now. I'm going to stop there for a while, and I'm going to start a little break. Well, if you want to give me a quick lease, I mean, just clean it up, whatever it takes me to. I mean, I already cleaned it up, I just got that cleaned up. All right, well, we're waiting for some tomorrow, and again, right now, we're going to sit back and let you up. Yeah, it's not bad either. I've been in this for a while, but I can't get rid of this smell. Okay, thank you so much. You gotta help out with your food there. Oh, thank you. I tried to run, but it's not a lot better. I'm still moving on a little bit. All right. All right. I appreciate nothing else around. Oh, yeah, I can feel it. I can feel it. I can feel it. Thank you. All right. Well, we have a big day tomorrow. I don't know. Let me figure out what it looks like. I don't know. Bye, man. Bye, man. Bye, man. After speaking with his supervisor, Tanner called his fiance Cassie. Apparently, she had tried to reach him while he was cleaning the back of the truck. When he called her back, he gave her the same story. He got sick and vomited in his truck. Okay. I don't know. It was funny. Because there's one single cast in here. That's how I work, right? Yeah. And they have a slow cast. I have to try and see if this is the right thing. Now, we're going to do a little bit. In the middle of it. I don't know. That's not that thing. You know what I mean? That's not what I mean. That's not what I meant. And finally, good! Oh no, I actually feel a lot better! I feel a little better. When I talk to you, when I talk to you, when you talk to me, I literally do a lot of. I'm trying to get to where you can find. First, I'm trying to make my dreams come true. I know you guys got to see me, but how do you say that? How do you feel? I'm really happy. I feel like I'm going to be a little bit more angry. So. Hey, hey! Uh, how's this even? It's sad. Before Tanner pulled up to the entrance of the FedEx terminal, as if trying to make sure no one could see a pile of little girls' clothes. After parking, he looked around the area, appearing to check whether he was alone. At 1.55am, he picked up the clothing, briefly looked it over, and then bundled the socks and white underwear into the jeans. Before placing them into his black backpack, he then slung the bag over his right shoulder and exited the area. Then from there, he made his way home. Disturbingly, it was later discovered that Tanner actually had sex with his fiance that night, despite sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl just hours earlier. He said he did this because he wanted to prove to himself that he was in a pedophile, and I guess having sex with his fiance proved that to him somehow. That night, Tanner also spent a lot of time on the internet. He accessed an image that showed a three-circle diagram that labeled BDSM, autism, nerd shit, and Catholicism. He also searched for a book titled "Hot and Bothered," how to think about, talk about, and have the sex you really want. Internet searches also included, "My fiance's family makes me out to be a demon, YouTuber with the highest net worth, and multiple paradise-missing girl searches." He also viewed several photos of Athena on her family member's Facebook pages and kept up with their search efforts on social media. Some searches suggested he was getting nervous about getting caught. In fact, at one point, Tanner even searched to FedEx truck cameras constantly record. The following day, Tanner was back at work as if nothing happened. He was delivering packages along his route, but at some point, his boss calls him. Tanner looks nervous. He immediately pulls the truck over and answers. And to his dismay, his boss was wanting to know if he had heard about an amber alert for a seven-year-old girl. Here is a portion of that call. The number you had is estimated. Unfortunately, the rest of the call was cut off. But from there, Tanner continued on his delivery route. At some point, he attempted to drive down a county road that was blocked by multiple vehicles. He repeatedly honked his horn to get someone's attention. When someone finally walks over, he asked if he was allowed to drive down the road to deliver packages. The person responded that a seven-year-old girl was missing. And Tanner said, "Oh shit. Here is a portion of that video." "I have some packages for down here and I can go that way." "What's going on?" Several minutes passed as Tanner drove past multiple people, including some on horseback in ATV, who were actively searching for Athena. He nodded and waived as he drove by them, but really he was frustrated. He even pulls out a cigarette and smokes it while driving by the search party. He begins honking at the people blocking the road, throwing his hands in the air upset. He honks again and says to himself, "I can't get through, there's people in the way." He couldn't care less about Athena. He knew she was already dead. The only thing he cared about was delivering his packages and completing his route. Eventually, the searcher walks up to his truck and says you can pull up and ask them to go through, but there's been a kidnapping and it's blocked off. Tanner says, "Are you serious?" Acting like he's incredibly concerned. But as you know, Tanner's crimes would come back to haunted. And soon enough, he was sitting in a police department in the interrogation room. Now, for the first few hours of the interrogation, Tanner didn't admit too much. At first, he admitted to hitting Athena with his truck, but he didn't really reveal much else. So at this point, investigators thought she might still be alive. They quickly got search warrants to search Tanner's home. When they showed up to the house, they found that he lived with his mother, grandmother, and brother. The investigators made them come outside the Horner property while it was being searched. And sure enough, they would find some disturbing evidence. In a pile of discarded trash, they found Athena's blue multicolored socks. They found a pair of her white hains underwear and are blue jeans with embroidered flowers on the pockets. They also found Tanner's FedEx shirt. There were white stains on it that appeared to be semen. The same stains were found on his underwear. And it's with these discoveries that investigators figured that Athena was no longer alive. And back at the police station, they turned up the heat. But that's where Tanner Horner's alter ego came into the picture. Rather than admit fault and tell the investigators that he was responsible for Athena's murder, he blamed it on a voice inside his head. An alter ego, he named zero. And now for a brief ad break. Anyways, y'all, let's get back to the show. Like, Z-e-e-r-o. Well, let's get back to the point. We can know some of these things around. And we're here when we'll protect your ad. We'll make you happy today. So you got to trust us on that. Okay? How can you stop? You need for granted me a little bit of subtle ways to do that. We'll do that. For sure. We have the resources, the capabilities, where we're in control. And we have, we have, we can keep, we say, okay? And you're trusting, can you continue trusting? I trust you. Okay. Now, I do want to point out that multiple personality disorder is a real disorder that affects real people. It's something that has been thoroughly studied. And based on several doctor's opinions, Tanner did not suffer from it. The investigators knew that from the get-go. But throughout Tanner's interrogation, they noticed that if they wanted the truth out of him, they had to speak to this zero persona. So they played into his game. When looking for Athena's body, they asked to speak to zero. And right then and there, Tanner would shift. Ranger Espinoza said, "When I addressed him, when I needed to be talking to zero, his physical demeanor changes. His head goes into a sideways motion, his eyes roll into the back of his head, and he pretends to turn into zero." Finally, after leading investigators to two incorrect locations, zero finally led them to the right one. Tanner directed them toward a bridge and off a roadway near a guardrail where they found her in the freezing waters of Bobo Crossing. FBI Special Agent Dave Rogers said the area was rocky. It was hard to trek through. As for the water's visibility, you can only see a few inches down. But as they made their way through, they eventually saw the outline of a small hand just below the surface. They carefully pulled her out and set her in a body bag. Before zipping it up, they put bags around her hands to help preserve potential DNA evidence. Then, she was taken to the medical examiner's office for further examination. But after she was found, one of the officers could even be heard telling Tanner, "Thank you, zero." Now, in this next part, you'll actually hear Tanner pretend to come out of his zero persona. He acts confused like he doesn't know what's going on. Then the investigator says, "Well, I need to talk to zero again." And immediately, he shifts back. "Zero, thank you for getting here." "But I've got a question, zero." "Hello, hello, what happened?" "Am I talking to Tanner now?" "No?" "I need zero, I need to ask zero more questions." "Because zero can you come out?" "Zero, I need you." "Talk to me." "What?" "I don't Tanner didn't." "I just thought I'd call it Tanner, but I know you did." "Did you sexually assault this little girl?" "Yeah." "Did you kill this little girl?" "Zero?" "What's going on?" "Thank you for bringing me to it. Thank you for letting me get home." I want to include this next part, but it is a little hard to hear. But after finding Athena, Tanner is standing outside smoking a cigarette, with the investigators around. And one of them asks him, "Zero, Tanner was talking earlier about trying to break her neck. You were trying to break her neck, but it didn't work. Did you try to break her neck or was it Tanner?" "Tanner responds, it was me," referring to zero. The investigators said, "Did you choke her from behind?" "Tanner nods yes." The investigator asks, "Did she defecate on herself?" "Tanner nods yes." "Did she struggle?" "Did she try to claw you or anything like that?" "He nods yes." "How did she try to claw you?" Tanner says, "She tried to kick me. Was she able to get a kick on you?" Tanner says, "No." "Did she scream?" Tanner says, "She wasn't able to." "We finally get." "We finally locate her." "And how do we locate her?" There are hundreds of law enforcement personnel. K-NATs, dogs, thermal imaging. The Ranger had helicopters moving 24/7 looking for her, searching for her. All believing they were going to find her alive. We found her where he pitched her off naked in the water. That's what we found her. How do we get to that point? Well, it wasn't without a lot of hard work by the FBI. Texas Rangers. Bodies County Sheriff, deputies. We finally locate her. But how do we get to locator? Well, Tanner owner made it as difficult as possible locator. Again, with more lies, upon lies, on lies. Where's her body? Where's her body? It's over here. It's over here. It's over here. Someone and so forth. It's just too much to keep up with, to be honest with you. So many lies. But we find her body. And you know, throughout this whole time when we're looking for the body. You know, when we ask people what happened, you know, sometimes they take responsibility. Not this guy. Every, every part of that, even before we found her body, as low as me. We're worried about what's going to happen to me. We're worried about why I'm not going to see my kid again. We're worried about me. So we haven't even found her body yet. And he's worried about that. But he's so concerned about diverting law enforcement. Let's go on. So concerned from diverting law enforcement. From, from deciphering just, just simply where her body is. He conjures a whole other persona out of thin air. And all the ranger had. After finding Athena's body, investigators took Tanner back to the station where he continued to lie, this time about Athena's clothing. He initially told the agents that when he dumped her body, she was naked aside from her underwear. But that wasn't true. Athena wasn't wearing any underwear when she was found. She wasn't wearing anything. Tanner also said that he discarded all of Athena's clothes along a county road. When asked why he did that, he said it was funny. But that was a lie too. Tanner didn't throw her clothes along the road. They were found in his house. Back at the police station, Tanner made more comments about his zero persona. Here is how he described it to investigators. I know that it's just normal, you know what I mean? Sometimes I'm in the back seat, and I don't feel like I was driving, and I'm just trying to move along the road. Essentially, yeah. And then there's other times when I call it being in the trunk, where I know I hear what's going on. There's other times when I wake up, and I have no idea how I can do it. In a last ditch effort to convince investigators that he was telling the truth, Tanner said that the entire time zero was leading investigators to Athena's body, he was there, observing everything. He said, "I'm a little flabbergasted. I was in the back seat watching everything happen, and I'm kind of freaking out." Now, it was obvious that Tanner showed no remorse for his actions. In fact, when the gravity of the situation started setting in, he wasn't worried about the life he took. He wasn't worried about Athena's parents, or her siblings that would never see her again. Instead, he was focused on his own life. How the consequences to his actions would inconvenience him. "I don't know, I'm going away from long-term things, and I'm doing this all all the life I think sounds like I'd rather die." "This is a hard thing, it is a hard thing, but I'll tell you this, Tanner, you're going to be okay." "No, I'm not." "Why didn't you think that?" After his charges were handed down, Tanner changed out of his FedEx clothing and into his striped prison attire. Days later, investigators brought him in again, and this time, they weren't interested in all the details surrounding what happened. This time, they wanted to know why. Why did you do this to Athena? But Tanner tried to bargain with them. He told them, "If you want that information, I want one month with my family." He said he wanted to spend Christmas with his fiancee and son. Obviously, investigators wouldn't agree to that, but Tanner responded, "I either way, it's basically my price." He said he wanted to spend Christmas with his fiancee and son, but he said he wanted to spend Christmas with his fiancee and son. Tanner kept repeating that he wasn't a monster or a bad person. "I'm not some deranged psychopath, I'm not some criminal," he told them. But after speaking with him for a while, he started to open up about the stress he was under before Athena's murder. He said his card broke down, and he was forced to drive his work truck home. He had been saving money for an apartment. He told investigators that for the six months he had been working for FedEx, he was under an immense amount of stress. His mental health deteriorated, and he suffered breakdowns while in the job. Tanner said that money was tight, and although he worked long hours delivering packages, it wasn't enough to support his family. As for his fiancee, Cassie, he claimed she was unable to work due to postpartum depression. According to Tanner, things were bad. He said he was suicidal and that Cassie checked him into an outpatient program to help with his depression and to get him back on medication. But it was during this time that Zero emerged, describing the alter ego as "a little devil on my shoulder kind of thing." And from that point on, Tanner claimed Zero showed up during intense moments of stress, which seemed to be frequent around the time of Athena's murder, specifically at work. Tanner said that his boss kept changing up his route, which really affected his routine. And because of that, he was stressed. And with that stress, Zero started coming out more and more. And according to Tanner, when he crossed paths with Athena, Zero took over. He even said, "I tried to stop all of this from happening." Now, Dr. Amy Fritz evaluated Tanner before trial, and here's what she had to say about this alter ego of his. Now in the days and weeks after Tanner's arrest, he made several phone calls to family members. Some are a little hard to hear, but here is a call he had with his mother, Melissa, the day after he was arrested. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. I know that phone call is a little hard to hear, but his mom said, "Tanner, I really hope you didn't do nothing weird to that little girl." I didn't. I didn't think so, but I know how you get. With my medication, I barely even have a libido anyways. I didn't do any. "I didn't think so. I didn't think you were a pervert. I love you. I'm sorry this happened. That poor baby." "I know." "I want you to pray for her and her family." "I know, mom. Can you get ahold of Cassie, please? You have her number. Talk to her and tell her I'd like to hear from her." Now, once again, he's more focused on his own life. Towards the end of the call with his mom, she says, "Don't hurt yourself." Tanner says, "Tell Cassie, I love her." Now, Tanner would call his mom on several occasions. In this second call between them, his mom talks about all the hate she's been receiving on her social media. Then she asks him again. "Did you rape that little girl?" Tanner says this. "Did you rape the right girl?" But clearly, that was a lie. Throughout the time that Tanner was in jail, he refused to take responsibility for what he did. Now, I wasn't able to find exactly when this happened, but at some point in his incarceration, Tanner attempted suicide. The details on what happened are scarce, but he survived. However, in his cell, investigators found a few letters. One was addressed to law enforcement. It was titled "Detectives Only," and it read this. "Detectives, my family is in danger. It's two days before my arrangement date, and I'm worried that I'll be killed either two or from my way to court. The day Athena was killed, I wasn't the only one involved. When I pulled up to the house, an older man had pulled a rifle on me and demanded my wallet. It's weird. He almost expected me to be there. After he checked my wallet, he gave me instructions after handing me my wallet back. He told me to take the girl and bring her to a specific spot, the area with the tall grass and bamboo. He gave me a change of clothes for the girl, and told me to have her change into them before handing her over to me. He had threatened my family, and I didn't know what to do, so I just went along with it. Don't tell the media, by the way. I don't know if he's going to do something. If I'm killed on the way to her from the court house, assume it was him. When I handed her over, she seemed like she knew him. They kind of freaked me out when she calmed down after seeing him. I shut my headlights off and followed them. I saw him park his truck by that creek. The next day I went by there after work and saw the girl's body. I put her body in the water. I needed to get this out even if it was just in writing. Don't tell the media. Don't tell my family. They'll tell the media. Don't tell the family of Athena until after their lawsuit against FedEx goes through. This is between me and you, Detective. As long as it stays between us, my family stays safe. I'll gladly keep the blame as long as they're safe. The man was older, probably 50s, grey hair, short, military style haircut, kind of fat with a bit of upper body muscles. I handed him the girl's clothes when I gave him her. I either missed the pants or he put them back on the truck somehow. I'm not sure, but three times he asked about the cameras on the FedEx truck. Unless y'all find him, keep it from everybody. I don't want my family hurt. I'm sorry I've been a burden on y'all. His other note was addressed to Athena's family. That one read this. To Athena's family, I want to start by saying how sorry I am about Athena. The entire time I've known my legal counsel, they continue to tell me that I don't have to apologize until the trial. Frankly, I can't hold it any longer. I've done a terrible thing to your family and I'm sorry. I can't tell you how many countless nights I've stayed awake unable to sleep. I pray for all of you. So many were affected by my breakdown. I'll just your family, but my own as well. I'll never get to see your baby grow grow up and I'm sorry. Now my son isn't going to grow up with his father and protector. I owe it to you all to explain where my mind was at. Let me start by saying that I have Asperger syndrome. In other words, I'm on the autism spectrum. I don't do well with change, things that are unpredictable in nature. When I first started out as a driver at FedEx, I was given a singular route that wouldn't change for a while. After a bit, my employer started making random changes to my route, adding stuff from other routes so that they can make more money. I don't do well with change. Again, I can have meltdowns when unexpected changes to my daily routine happen. It was so bad one day I started to have a suicidal episode. I had to leave early that day where I was going to walk myself into oncoming traffic. The only thing that stopped me was thinking of my son growing up without his father. So I took off for a week and sought out help. I got put on medication and a week later I was back at work. I let my employers know how I needed to keep a consistent routine and I wouldn't have any issues. However, I was ignored. When I returned, they did the opposite of what was needed for someone like me. They made me a floater. They put me on a different route every day. I reminded them that I needed to be on a routine. It was like it would go in one year and out the other. My mental health started to steadily get worse because of it. I couldn't just quit either. I had a son I had to take care of. Then on top of all that, certain aspects of my home life started to fall apart as well. I guess they got sick of me constantly telling them I needed consistency because they sold me off to another company without having any say in the matter. In hindsight, I'm starting to think they were trying to get me to quit. Which in retrospect is kind of scummy. After a while with the new contractor I started with, big topspin, my life started to kind of fall back into place. I got a car again, but I was still consistently stressed. I had multiple minor meltdowns because even this new company had no regard for my mental health because they still refused to put me on a consistent route. The holidays came and my stress only multiplied. They forced everyone to work six day weeks as volume got higher and higher. It was all the wrong place and the wrong time. I'm sorry I allowed my mental state to be unstable. I'm sorry I took your little angel away from you. She didn't deserve it. Y'all didn't deserve it. My son didn't deserve to lose his father. My mother didn't deserve to lose her son. My fiance didn't deserve to have her wedding day stripped from her. I pray that my death eases your suffering in some way. The only thing I ask is for forgiveness and for you to remember my son and show him some grace and mercy for he no longer has his father. With love and sorrow and remorse, I love you all and I'm sorry. Tanner Horner. Now in that letter, there were moments when he seemed sorry, but then he would follow it up with all these excuses on why he wasn't to blame. So clearly he wasn't that sorry. At Tanner's trial, he already admitted guilt. So now the jury just had to decide whether he'd spend the rest of his life in prison or receive the death penalty. His defense team brought forward several witnesses to paint a picture of his life, a dysfunctional life at that. And here's a little background information on Tanner Horner. He was born on August 8, 1991 to Terry and Melissa Horner in Fort Worth, Texas. His mother Melissa had a troubled childhood, which may have shaped certain aspects of her experience as a mother. She moved around a lot, only completed the 9th grade and was subjected to sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather. She started abusing drugs when she was 14 years old, something she admitted wasn't escaped from her chaotic home life. After dropping out of high school, she started working odd jobs to support herself. But when it wasn't enough, she moved on to dancing in topless bars. It seemed to fit in with my life, she said, when you're abused at such a young age, it becomes a self-concept. You know, this is what I'm here for. I wish I hadn't. I really wish I hadn't, but I did. When she was 17, she met Tanner's father, Terry, who was 29 at the time. They met while she was dancing topless at a club called Sinbats. According to her testimony, Terry raped her on the first night they met. Well, he asked me to go back to his room and do a line and I said, okay, then I went and he was trying to build me up. I said, no, then he let me out. And it made me do it all when he wanted. Despite the rape and alleged abuse, Melissa continued seeing Terry. The two eventually married when she turned 19, and then she found out she was pregnant. Melissa admitted that she continued to drink alcohol during the first eight weeks of her pregnancy with Tanner. She also said she smoked cigarettes and marijuana, while pregnant with him. But after that, she said she quit because she wanted to have a healthy child. Now, after Tanner was born, she continued to abuse drugs and alcohol, as did Tanner's father, Terry. Melissa later admitted that her drug of choice was heroin. She snorted it, injected it, and over time was completely dependent on the drug. Tanner described his father as a crackhead, who was in and out of jail the majority of his life. Even at a young age, Tanner witnessed the consequences of his parents' actions. When he was two years old, he walked into the bathroom to find his mother slumped over a toilet. He ran into the other room and told his grandmother, mom is dead. As the years went on, Melissa's substance abuse worsened. She spent time in jail for both drugs and prostitution. So Tanner's childhood was anything but ideal. His parents struggled with substance abuse. They neglected him, and he was repeatedly in and out of their care. At one point, when Melissa was homeless, the two lived together in a tent. Later, when Tanner was around 10, the two moved into a small apartment. But he got into some serious trouble after trying to start a fire and a field behind the complex. Melissa made him apologize to the landlord. However, Tanner claimed that the landlord sexually assaulted him. He kept this a secret for years, never telling his mother. He only disclosed it later to Dr. Jolie Brams, while in jail. Now eventually Tanner's grandmother, Jackie stepped in. And he lived with her in a small house. and for worse. According to those who knew him, Tanner spent the majority of his life in a converted storage shed that was attached to the main home. Bajaki was happy to step in and help. As Tanner was her first grandchild, and she loved him deeply. However, her husband at the time, Bill, was known for being strict and heavily focused on punishment. He was an army veteran who served in Vietnam. Bill was described as paranoid and impatient and he often got angry when things didn't go his way. But growing up, Tanner was different. He struggled making friends, and even though he wanted to fit in, he never did. Here's what his mother told the court. I didn't get along with, I mean, he wanted to get along with people, but they just weren't interested in having conversation with him. Having real sad to watch. Very sad. He didn't like it at all. He doesn't, he wouldn't say things like they did. He didn't talk the way they did. It's not like I could hear what they're saying, but you can tell by looking at their faces, I mean, he didn't know how to talk to them the way. According to his mother, Melissa, she had Tanner tested when he was a child. Over the course of six weeks, they determined he had Asperger's. Now, these days, Asperger's is not an actual disorder. Instead, people are diagnosed with autism, but the diagnosis appeared consistent with his frequent meltdowns and communication difficulties. In the beginning, Melissa brushed them off as temper tantrums. However, as he got older, he became more violent. When he couldn't communicate what he wanted, he punched himself in the head, punched walls, and threw things. His second cousin testified that she babysat him when he was a toddler and confirmed that he was hyper and prone to fits. She said she had to hide change from him because he would try to eat the coins. Although she was only 12 years old when she started babysitting, she claimed that Melissa offered to pay her with either cash or weed for her services. After Tanner was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, Bill reportedly dismissed the diagnosis, insisting there was nothing wrong with him, and claiming it was merely an excuse for his bad behavior. It was said that Bill expected perfection at all times and demanded obedience from Tanner. If a task needed to be done, such as cutting grass, he expected Tanner to handle it, even if he had never done it before. But during one intense argument, Bill's anger escalated into violence. Jackie claimed Bill grabbed a stick and "acted like he was playing baseball and just swung it at him." Tanner was repeatedly hit in the arms chest and stomach. One of the wounds was so deep it required stitches. Now during elementary school, one of the school's psychologists, only referred to as Mary, stated that he received special education services because of his diagnosis. For half of the school day, Tanner was put into a behavior improvement class, and the other half he was in a regular classroom. Mary noted that he had a goal related to reducing temper tantrums. Her summary and recommendations for Tanner stated, "Tanner continues to exhibit a mile form of Asperger's disorder. His social deficits and lack of appropriate communication continue to be his greatest affected areas. Tanner lacks empathy and has little ability to form friendships. His ability to use language is not impaired, but the effective and relational aspect of his communication is significantly below what one would expect. His eye contact is normally poor, and he has possibly sensory issues, especially in the area of his personal hygiene needs. He is very rigid about change and is more successful when he's on a schedule. In addition, however, Tanner also appears to have emotional deficits that also negatively impact him." Tanner's former fifth grade teacher did not remember any major behavioral issues. She was aware of his diagnosis, but stated that he got along with his classmates and participated in class. Overall, she said she enjoyed having him as a student. Tanner's former speech pathologist, Beth Anderson, who worked with him on pragmatic speech and behavior skills said, "I just worked with him with these students to help them learn coping to whatever the situation was because, cognitively, you throw something in on an individual with Asperger's, Tanner especially, you throw something out of the ordinary into his daily schedule and he's off. He can't adjust to it quickly. You need to slowly get him used to it, help him think about what his behavior is going to be." Beth admitted that Tanner only engaged with others if it involved something he was interested in. In one of her observations, she wrote, "Tanner was more talkative since he had appeared with him. He was overbearing and loud. Turntaking was inappropriate as he verbally badgered the other student to hurry and finish his turn. He continues to get excited and talk too loudly for a restaurant setting, unable to read facial expressions and body language of others. Finally, when asked how she could remember so many details about Tanner's life 20 years later, she responded, "He was a great kid." Now, upon entering high school, Tanner continued receiving special education services. His new teacher, Marie, described him as "pleasant and a hard worker." In the classroom, he appeared to be a good student who occasionally needed redirection. When he became angry, he struggled to calm himself down. But he didn't really get in a lot of trouble. His disciplinary record only included one violation for fighting. Now, at home, Tanner often attended legacy church with his grandparents and he was actively involved in the church, especially when it came to music. From an early age, Tanner loved music, particularly alternative, heavy metal and hard rock. He learned to play various instruments, including drums and bass guitar. He also performed as the lead vocalist in several bands. During high school, he attended a national music competition with his church youth group and his pastor recalled that his drumstick broke and it sent him into a panic. Our team, they practiced and it was time to go in. We went in and I can't remember if he forgot his stick or a stick broke. He broke his stick so the routine had started and you got these judges sitting in front of you. It's pretty intimidating, but they had prepared and his stick broke and when it did, it just, it put it into a panic. I think a lot of it due to his autism a little bit, but also just letting the team down. But the senior ones around him, I think, threw him a stick and then one of them used their hands so they made it through the routine. But for some reason, that really impacted Tanner and as soon as it was over, he ran out of the room and you could tell he was upset and angry, but he wasn't violent toward anybody. He was just really upset with himself. Yeah. In 2009, Tanner graduated from high school. It was a major accomplishment because he was the first member of his family to earn a high school diploma. But he had no desire to really do anything with his life. He didn't want to go to college and he was unable to find steady work. Over the years, he drove for Uber, worked as a dishwasher at Outback State House, installed air conditioners, and he worked at Papa John's and Amazon. But his employment never lasted long. It was widely known that whenever he felt overwhelmed, he would often just walk out and quit. For example, when the dishes started piling up at Outback, he didn't want to deal with it. So he just walked out of the restaurant and never came back. It seemed as if the only constant in his life was music. And over the years, he started numerous bands. Some of them in hindsight are eerie names, such as recovered the lost. Another one was buried a lie. He also made a band called Commit in Conqueror, Soundings, and Sacred Sound. But like everything else in his life, these bands never lasted long. And according to his bandmates, Tanner's personality was hard to deal with. He was bizarre, socially awkward, and at times, clingy. One band made even when as far as to say that Tanner gave off, quote, "school shooter vibes." It was known that when he was stressed, he would listen to music, play video games, and repeatedly watch Dragon Ball Z or Marvel movies. He also smoked a lot of marijuana. It became a coping mechanism for him, and he continued to move through life feeling like an outsider, often describing himself as an alien. Tanner also posted a number of videos of him online, singing. Here is a clip of one we found. We will spare you the rest. But the older Tanner got, while people around him were growing out of their immatureity, Tanner didn't seem to change. He suffered from numerous mental illnesses, and he would speak to his friends about self-harm. One friend even witnessed Tanner harming himself. After complaining to him about emotional abuse by his mother, Tanner repeating hit himself in the head with significant force. Tanner often told his friends that it was hard to cope with stress, and if he ever did anything questionable, he was quick to blame his autism diagnosis. It became a central part of his identity. On his social media page, it read, "Aspe, non-neurotypical, musician, metalhead, love is stupid and not to mention completely assamine." But Tanner didn't have a criminal record. It appeared that his violent behavior was primarily directed toward himself. The neighborhood where he lived was quiet and safe. Elderly people walking their dogs and mothers with children were a frequent sight on the streets he lived on. As for Tanner, neighbors said he mostly kept to himself and was often seen coming and going from the residents. However, there were troubling reports about his behavior, including allegations that he pursued sexual relationships with young girls. Apparently, he liked underage females and allegedly dated a 14-year-old when he was in his early 20s. On November 11, 2018, four years before Athena's murder, a 16-year-old girl named Shelly publicly accused Tanner of rape, posting on her social media page, quote, "Friendly reminder that Tanner Horner is a rapist," end quote. Now she never reported this to the police because she feared no one would believe her. But Tanner saw the post, and he messaged her calling her a liar. His message read, quote, "It has come to my attention that you've been going around slandering my name to people, saying that I raped you. When you know that is not the case, and the year since I've talked to you, I have not even once slandered your name, or have said anything degrading about your character. I haven't had a reason too, so I'm asking you out of respect, please stop spreading lies and misinformation about what happened between us," end quote. But Shelly said that she was not lying about what happened, and after Tanner was arrested for murdering Athena Strand, Shelly posted on social media again. She said, quote, "Tanner Lynn Horner, the man who raped me at 16, eight years ago, murdered Athena Strand, a seven-year-old girl. I hope the family gets the justice they deserve. I hope he rots, and I hope that everyone who didn't believe me, when I've talked about this for eight fucking years, does now. Fuck all of you," end quote. Now Shelly would testify at Tanner's trial, and she told the jury all about how Tanner raped her on the evening of December 6, 2014. Shelly said she attended a party and planned on spending the night, because alcohol and marijuana were involved. She said that when she went to bed, Tanner attempted to cuddle with her, but she told him she didn't want to be touched. However, he didn't listen. As we were laying down, it was a pretty big bed, so I went to one side, and he began to try to cuddle with me, and I told him that I didn't want to cuddle. I just wanted to go to sleep. I didn't want to be touched. There are two specific moments that I remember as I was in and out of consciousness. He was on top of me. I was laying on my back. He had his penis inside of me, and his sweat tripped into my mouth, and then I remember coming to again, and I was on my stomach, and he had my hands pinned behind my back, and he was continuing to rape me. He is continuously thrusting in and out of my body, grunting. Shelly said that she was in and out of consciousness, and could hardly remember anything that happened when she woke up. The next day, she was still with the same group of people, drinking and smoking weed. At some point, Tanner touched her again, and her body reacted. I was laying on my right side on the edge of the bed. I was kind of just scrolling, just trying to occupy my brain for a few minutes, because I couldn't quite fall asleep, and he began to trace his hand up and down my side, up and down my leg, my hip, my waist, talking about how he's sorry that my ex hurt me, that he would never hurt me, like he did, that he wishes that I didn't have to go through that, and then I began to have brief glances of the night before and start to hyperventilate. I am on the verge of an anxiety attack. He keeps judging me eventually, he starts asking me what's wrong, and I can't bring myself to respond because how I didn't know how to even begin to explain what was wrong to the person that was hurting me. Shelly attempted to get away, but Tanner blocked the door. She called a friend to pick her up, but Tanner refused to give her the address. Eventually, he moved, and she ran into Tanner's grandmother's house, where she found a piece of mail with the address to give to her friend. She then locked herself in the bathroom until her friend arrived. She also told the jury that Tanner discussed his sexual interests with her, including BDSM and consensual non-consent, or sex involving restraint and rape fantasies. She said it made her extremely uncomfortable due to her age at the time. I lost my sense of self for years. I became very erratic in my behaviors, while also losing all sense of voice for myself. I was angry. I was angry at everybody and at everything. I ended up getting into an abusive relationship that lasted four years. The prosecution asked how she felt after learning about what happened to Athena. She said this. I felt like I had been put back into sixteen-year-old me's body. I felt guilt for not coming forward. I felt shame for not speaking up sooner, legally speaking. I felt a lot of pain reliving those memories over and over and over again, as well as thinking about the amount of pain that other people have experienced at the hands of him over and over and over again. I am now back in therapy. I struggle with opening up to people communicating effectively because I don't feel like I will be heard because I go back to that sixteen-year-old version of me. And sadly, this wouldn't be the only underaged girl he raped. A 29-year-old named Kaelin also accused Tanner of sexual assault. She told the jury that she met Tanner through a mutual friend around early 2013 when she was sixteen years old. She explained that alcohol and marijuana were a part of their social settings, and the two bonded over anime, specifically the anime Death Note. She shared a photo of herself dressed as Misa Misa at a cosplay convention with Tanner, and Kaelin read aloud the interaction between she and Tanner after he saw her cosplay photographs. The first comment that Tanner made asked who I was cause playing us. I responded Misa Misa. Tanner said, "I just creamed in my panties." Tanner then said, "I had to go to Walmart and buy a pair just so I could creamed them." I responded, "Tanner, you're a male. That's weird that you're wearing panties." Tanner then said, "Well, banana hammock, but still, then be panties, not panties, LOLs, JK, JK." According to Kaelin, Tanner was aware of her age when the two entered a dating relationship in June 2013. She was sixteen and he was twenty-two. She described him as socially awkward, but someone who tried hard to fit in. She added that he often tried to come across as cooler than he really was. But then the unthinkable happened while she was at his grandmother's house. Kaelin said that Tanner sexually assaulted her in a shed behind the home. It was the first time Kaelin had ever had sex. She later said that she was never even interested in a sexual relationship with Tanner due to their age difference. So, the entire interaction made her feel gross and unclean. She even voiced her concern to Tanner, but he didn't seem to care. In fact, in August 2013, he sexually assaulted her for a second time. Kaelin confided in her friend Shelly about what happened, and she was shocked to learn that she had also been a victim of Tanner. Now, years later, Kaelin said that she ran into Tanner at a bar, and he tried to kiss her, but she pushed him off. He told her that she was more fun when she was younger. After learning about the Athena Strand case, Kaelin decided to come forward with what happened to her and report it to the police, but she admitted that she felt guilty for not coming forward sooner. I have been struggling mentally for since I. The news was announced online. It has been very hard on me. I have felt guilt due to the fact that if I had reported things may not have happened to other people as they They are accused. In October 2019, Tanner started dating another underaged female 17-year-old girl Cassie Wait. The two welcomed their first child, a son named Chester in July 2021, attribute to the late Chester Bennington of Lincoln Park. Tanner's mom Melissa claimed that Tanner was so excited to become a dad. As any expected parent would be, but she could tell that he was nervous as well. She said he was afraid he might accidentally hurt his infant son because of how small and fragile he was. Now, Tanner and Cassie never married. They were engaged, but they lived separately for a while. Cassie lived with her family, and Tanner continued to live in the shed at his grandparents' home. But eventually, Cassie and Chester moved in with Tanner inside the small cramped shed. It was far from a warmer, welcoming home. The outside was littered with trash and discarded junk. The inside smelled of dirty clothes and rotting food. Cassie later claimed that the two had a healthy sex life, which later contradicted Tanner's claims that his medications prevented him from getting an erection. But there was strain in the relationship. Tanner's mother, Melissa, said that he often vented to her about financial stress, claiming that Cassie spent all their money. He told his mother that he wanted the relationship to work, as Cassie had been the only person to ever stick around. Tanner was trying to save money to get them into an apartment, and purchased them a reliable car. But the money he earned was quickly spent, and now that he had a family, he had to be responsible. He could no longer walk out of a job when he felt overwhelmed or stressed. He needed the money to support Cassie and Chester. In February of 2022, Tanner started working for the company called Big Topspin, delivering packages for FedEx. After working on jobs for most of his life, he enjoyed the consistency. That is until his boss started changing up his routine, and it was that very job that led him straight to Athena Strand's house. "We've already played you the calls between Tanner and his mother, we've talked to you about his rough upbringing. At trial, his mother stated, 'I'm not proud of anything I did, I'm wearing my shame like a badge right now.' As for Melissa's thoughts on Athena's murder, she broke down and said she was mad at her son. "I think I'm gonna drink with me." "I'm so editing her." "I just want to tear that out." "I think it's just a baby." "I think it's just a baby." "I don't love who did that though." Now after Tanner's arrest, as he awaited trial, he was evaluated by a number of different doctors, one being Dr. Amy Fritz. And she said that it seemed as if Tanner showed signs of her moors for what he did. But she also said that Tanner completely lied to her, even a few months before his trial started. He was still stating that he kidnapped Athena because he accidentally hid her with his truck. And when he lied about the sexual assault, she didn't question him on it. It wasn't until she heard the audio from inside the truck when she learned just how much of a lie that was. I was no surprised by the violence. I think the violence of it was really incongruent with the gentleman that I met, with the reports that I read and hours about. It was shocking. It was horrific. It's awful. And I'm so sorry. Meaning, I'll watch you so. Were you able to see how, I guess, calm he was when he grabbed her a put her into the truck? Yes. And were you able to see him speaking to Athena? Yes. And what was his language like at that point when he was just talking to her at the very beginning? Calm. Calm main. Very. And did you hear Tanner for. Say, don't scream or I'll hurt you. Yes, multiple times. Okay. When did the language change? I believe after his attempt to expect theater. But I could be wrong about the chronology of it. At some point did his language become angry? Yes. I heard the video. He yelled at her, he told her to shut up. Called her a bitch. Multiple profanities. Poor delivery. His language changed. When she wouldn't die. Did you agree that I would agree with that? In that moment I don't think he was empathetic to Athena. It was clear to every single person who listened to that audio from inside the FedEx truck that Tanner sexually assaulted Athena. But since he put that sticky note over the camera, it wasn't hard evidence. However, the prosecution would present evidence that proved Athena was indeed assaulted. Chief medical examiner for Dallas County, Dr. Jessica Dwyer, said that when Athena came into her office she was covered in a brownish dirt silt and vegetation was inside the body bag and in her hair. She also said that at first it didn't appear to the naked eye that Athena had been assaulted. However, testing would later prove otherwise. Forensic analyst Jacqueline Ferraro was in charge of the DNA testing. She told the jury that samples from Athena's sexual assault kit tested positive for male DNA, specifically the vaginal and anal swabs. Now, she could not say where the DNA came from, but stated it could have been blood, saliva, skin cells, semen, or any number of things. However, she was able to identify the DNA found on Tanner's FedEx shirt. That DNA was confirmed to be blood and semen. There was also semen found on his hands boxer briefs. As for the DNA found on Athena's jeans and underneath her fingernails, that was blood. Now, they did test the DNA and four forensic scientists from the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab testified that it was high probability that it was Tanner's DNA on Athena's body. So, these findings confirmed what everybody knew. The Tanner had sexually assaulted Athena. Tanner was evaluated by another forensic psychiatrist named Dr. Eileen Ryan. And he told her a completely different story about Athena's kidnapping. This time, he said he didn't kidnap Athena because he hid her with his truck. He kidnapped her because Athena saw him snorting cocaine, while he was delivering that package to her house. And for whatever reason, I guess Dr. Ryan believed that that could have been true. Despite all the lies he told before. In that moment that catastrophizing around, she saw me using the cocaine. She's going to tell on me I'm going to lose my job. That's the end for me. I'm going to lose my son was what went into this. Dr. Ryan went as far as to say that the cocaine impaired his problem solving skills on the day he abducted Athena. Now, in part of your report, you said that the intoxication hung the coke at the time the office contributed to his impulsivity and his impaired problem solving. Does that what you said in your report? Yes. Sound accurate? Yes. We've already talked about his problem solving. You'll agree with me that out of near or after the crime is problem solving was working just fine. Right? Again, I don't think his problem solving was working just fine. That he was solving problems as he saw fit in the way that he solves problems. I mean, he was solving problems, recovery is tracked. Yes. He was solving problems as to how he was going to explain things to everybody else. When he goes to a secluded location to sexually assault her, that's not impulse. He drove 20 minutes to get over. Correct? Correct. Can it wasn't impulsive when he calmly tells her and talks to her about his about her family, school and other than that's not impulsive either. I wouldn't call that impulsive. I want to take you a fast forward a little bit to Athena is already in the truck. Did he talk to you about assaulting Athena? Eventually. Did he deny it at first? Yes. So it did you believe him when he first denied it? No, why not? Because I had read the transcript and I was I had I knew, in my opinion, what had gone on in the talking and covered the camera so one couldn't see it, but from what the transcript was, I later heard the audio. Yeah, I'm sorry, but even before that, reading the transcript was enough. So, at any time did you challenge Hannah on the lives that he voted? Yes. Was he eventually able to tell you what had happened? Yes, to the best of his ability, I think. My opinion was that he was deeply ashamed, and I felt in talking with him at that moment. In my opinion, he appeared to be quite more merciful about what he had done. Dr. Ryan also had a conversation with Tanner about the assault, where he admitted to using physical blows with both his hands and feet. He even said that in between the attacks he was doing cocaine. Dr. Ryan also asked him about the audio from inside the truck, in which he continued to lie. At some point in the audio Athena is heard gagging. When she asked Tanner what that was, he said he was trying to put a pill in Athena's mouth. But Dr. Ryan admitted that she didn't think that was true. She said, "I believe he was attempting to have her perform oral sex." But Dr. Ryan would go on to say some very controversial things while on the stand. As you just heard, Tanner admitted to her that he sexually assaulted Athena. But even after hearing that, Dr. Ryan claimed that Tanner didn't fit the profile of a pedophile. One of her reasons was that there wasn't child sexual abuse material on his phone. And throughout her evaluation, she said that she didn't think he had a sexual interest in children. Does gradifying himself on a seven-year-old child, that screams pedophilia, doesn't it? No, it's disgusting, but it's not pedophilia. Again, there has to be a persistent pattern of sexual arousal to children. Did you read the DNA reports in this case? I know there was DNA. And you know where it was found in Athena, right? Not in Athena. I'm not aware that there was any DNA found in Athena. You didn't read that they found DNA, both in her jam and rings? No, I did not. Now, the prosecution even brought up the fact that Tanner sexually assaulted those two teenage girls years prior. But still, she didn't think that he met the criteria, even though there was clear evidence of repeat offenses. However, these weren't the only instances. You see, at the very end of Tanner's trial, another witness came forward saying that Tanner Horner sexually abused them as a child. This witness was actually a family member of Tanner's. They were just 10 years old when Tanner assaulted them. And Tanner was around 13 at the time. He went back there. He pulled out his penance. He started masturbating. He told me to suck it. And then he grabbed my head and made me. And then he told me to bend over. He tried to put it in. It would not go in. And then he told me to continue sucking. And then he pulled out and finished by masturbating. I was scared of Tanner. He was bigger than me. He's beating me up before. I went along with it. After that point, was there a different incident that happened to you? It was later on around 2007 when Karen along activity first movie came out. I woke up to him masturbating above my head. He pretended that he was asleep. I moved out the way, yelled several times. And he just kept on doing it. And then I waited until he went back to bed. And I lay down and went back to bed. He then named another incident that took place years later when Tanner made a disturbing comment. It was 4th of July. Tanner's grandmother had parked her van at the fireworks stand. They ran out of gas because I guess she was sitting on a hill. It went start. It rolled back. Cody gave us a ride home to his house. And in the car on the right home, Tanner had mentioned he wondered what it would be like to kill somebody. Now Tanner's defense team spent a lot of time trying to get people to feel sorry for him. They talked about his rough upbringing, his mom drinking while pregnant, his autism diagnosis, how he had extra lead in his body. They showed brain scans. All of these things that they hoped would offer some explanation on why he is the way he is. And there is no denying that Tanner had a rough upbringing. There's no denying that he was on the spectrum. But a lot of people have rough childhoods. A lot of people have autism. And most don't go on to rape and murder seven year old girls. So if they thought that he would get any sympathy, they were wrong. Especially after that FedEx audio was played for the court. The audio where you could hear everything. It was said that as it played in the courtroom, many of the jurors were sobbing. And they were all staring Tanner horned down while he just sits there looking down his face and his hands. The audio brought almost everyone to tears. The tone inside the courtroom completely shifted. Athena's mother, MATLIN, wasn't in the courtroom when they played it. But during her testimony, there was a moment when she was asked about the footage inside Tanner's FedEx truck. She admitted that she could only watch a minute or two of it. She got emotional before turning to the jury to apologize. Who did? How much of it were you able to look at? Maybe a minute. Maybe two. I'm very sorry to all of the innocent people. But do you have to watch that? I'm sorry. I'm sorry to you. And I'm sorry to you all too. Because none of us, not Athena, not me, not anyone in this room, besides Tanner Horner, asked for what's on that video. And Athena definitely didn't. Another emotional part of this trial had to do with MATLIN's testimony, Athena's mother. In court, she wore her hair dyed pink in honor of her daughter's favorite color, along with a matching pink blazer. And she told the courts that she wanted the truth, all of it, including where Tanner took her daughter's shirt that was never recovered. I know it sounds stupid and I know it sounds so bad. I know he will never tell the truth. But I want to know where my daughter's shirt is. I want to know everything. He won't tell me that. And I doubt. I highly doubt that he cared enough to pay attention to when my daughter took her last break. Because I brought her into this world chain. And I know when she took her first. I was there for that. I was there when she took her first steps and said her first word. But I was there when she took her last. So I want to know where her shirt is. Because maybe he can maybe give me that much grace. Do you talk to Athena sometimes? I talk to her every day. What do you say to her when you talk to her? I tell her that I'm sorry that I wasn't there to protect her. And to swap him, I tell her that I love her. And I talk to her about Rye. I know what she's doing in life and how much she loves and misses her. And until her about you and about Pat and about my show and about my attorneys and how you're working really hard. To make sure that she's not forgotten. And that she didn't just die. And then we'll get justice for her. Next, the DA asked MATLIN. If you could have two more minutes with Athena, what would you tell her? MATLIN said this. Athena's father, Jacob Strand, spoke about his favorite memories of her playing outside near the fruitless pear tree and the time she played in the water trough with her barbies. He described her as independent and carefree. She loved singing frozen songs. She sang them 24/7. That Christmas, Jacob said the last gift they purchased her was the 6 pack of Barbie dolls that Tanner Horner delivered right to their house. But Jacob never got the chance to give them to her. So you miss most about the end? Just in life and in her spirit, she loved everybody. Is there anything that you want this story to understand about Storm, the loss in this process? I just hope that the jury and the justice system will make the right decision. And the jury was about to make that decision. In closing arguments, District Attorney James Straton told the jury in part, "Do you know what you hold in your hands? Justice?" And I want you to ask yourself, was Tanner merciful, was Tanner vengeful? Did he show remorse? No. And I think that's important. If the facts were not bad enough, if the sexual assault wasn't bad enough, the level of violence that one person can inflict on a child, including stomping them with a pair of shoes, he said the defense told you that his brain was broken, that he had all these ailments. What everything they're telling you is an excuse. They're trying to get you to excuse his conduct. Tanner Horner is proof why parents hug their children a little tighter. He's proof of why children are nervous to go play outside. He's proof of why there's evil in society, and that we can never turn our backs. Tanner Horner should never have access to hurt anyone else, ever again. Finally, on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, the jury left for deliberation. Three hours later, they came back with their sentence. Many of Athena's loved ones broke down upon hearing the sentence. Before the trial, her mother, Maitland, said, "I support the death penalty. Every breath he takes is one my daughter doesn't." And finally, justice was served. For the victim impact statements, Athena's paternal uncle read this to the court. "On a life as friends, I'm Jacob's brother, nothing is on for years, so there are no words of truly cathode of station, infant and a mourner, cost, awesome, and our fame." Where he took from this world, not just a child, he took quite the future and a piece of every single person he loved. A granddaughter, a daughter, a niece, a cousin, and a friend, a son. She would call me Uncle Elijah, she's for the longest time to see the Elijah part of my name. It was the best thing. It's just that you're running out to me until the arms are open, you're like Uncle Elijah. To finish, from my last memory, I handled it, and now I get to never hear that again. I think it was more than, "Hello, I guess." She was laughter, curiosity, cognizant, and acid, like she had dreams that she would never change. Hercules, she will never sell it, and a life she'll never get to live, because of his action. He stole a sense of safety from all of us, it's me and my wife, just got comfortable enough to let our kids play outside, and that's even in her backyard, it's not close to the room. He's relative to safety, peace, and our trust in the world, and for ever change who we are as a family, we're left with questions, and we'll still never have answers, peace. Then we're going to try and honor the beautiful little girl whose life was taken in the most senseless and horrifically. Sarah, what are we going to do this for? You did not take life and destroy a family, if you took a little girl who trusted the world and redeemed that innocence with violence. He chose to cause pain, that was her ashes. He said you found God, but will you get to Athena's stand in the right opposition to everything that you now plan to believe? In Matthew 186, it says, "If anyone causes one of these little ones to stumble, it could be better for them to have a little stone hung around their neck, as he's right." Sarah says how seriously or against child is judged. Sarah, and you don't be judged, you will face the wrath of God, all of you but not. And with that, Tanner Horner was taken to death row at the Allen B. Polinsky unit in Livingston, Texas. He lived the remainder of his days confined in a single person cell. You know, earlier in the story, Tanner mentioned that he thrives on routine. In fact, he said that changes in his routine are what led him to commit these monstrous acts against Athena's strand. Well, he is about to have a very strict routine, within the small cell where he will spend the rest of his life. He will have limited interactions with others, spending at least 22 hours a day in complete isolation, food will be brought to him through a small slot in the door, and until he is brought to the execution chamber, that will be exactly what the rest of his life will look like. Routine, just like he likes it. As we wrap up this story, it's horrifying to think that there are monsters in the world, like Tanner Horner. Seven-year-old Athena had her whole life ahead of her. On the day she was killed, she was playing in her front lawn. Athena had been taught about the dangers in the world. She knew about kidnappers, but to her, this wasn't a kidnapper. He was the delivery man, coming to bring her one of her Christmas presents. There are people that we led onto our properties every day. She had no reason to believe that she had come face to face with evil, but luckily Tanner Horner will not be able to harm anyone else. Unlike Athena's uncle said, "He is nothing, and he will die nothing." Athena's mother has mentioned that more than anything, she just wants us to remember her baby girl, whether it's a year from now, ten years, or even twenty. And I think I can speak for everyone when I say, "We will never forget." In honor of Athena, we will be making a donation to her family's GoFundMe. We will link it below if you'd like to give it a donation as well. This is truly a horrific story, and it seems like more information keeps coming out even after the trial. In fact, just recently, a family came forward who lives around the area of Paradise, Texas. They said that after Athena's murder, Tanner Horner was seen driving his FedEx truck onto their property. Immediately after getting out of his truck, he pulls out some food and starts feeding the family dog. But what's even more troubling about this is that the family didn't even have a package slated for delivery. However, they did have a young daughter. Now after feeding the family's dog, Tanner went to the back and grabbed a large package. But then, after someone came outside, Tanner saw them and put the package back in his truck and then drove away. He had no reason to be there, yet there he was. and there's no telling what it is. his motive could have been. But that's it for today's episode. Thank you guys for listening. Hey everybody, thank you for listening to this week's episode of Murder in America. Obviously, this is a case that has completely shocked Texas, Courtney and I live in Houston. And I mean, it's just, it's such a horrific, deeply troubling case. It's a case that's really hard to even learn about and read about and talk about. It's just, yeah, my heart absolutely breaks for the Strand family. And Courtney and I just want to send the most love that we possibly can to them in this terrible time. If you want to support the work that we do here on the show, please consider joining us on Patreon. 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I hope you all have a great weekend if you're listening on Friday or a great week if you're listening after the weekend. And yeah, thanks for tuning in. And I'll catch y'all on the next one.