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FedEx driver sentenced to death in murder of 7-year-old Athena Strand
FedEx driver sentenced to death in murder of 7-year-old Athena Strand
A former FedEx driver accused of killing a 7-year-old Oklahoma girl in Texas was sentenced to death on Tuesday.
KOCO Updated: 5:37 PM CDT May 5, 2026
Addison Kliewer
Special Projects Producer/Digital Editor
FORT WORTH, Texas — A former FedEx driver accused of killing a 7-year-old Oklahoma girl in Texas was sentenced to death on Tuesday.
{snip}
A former FedEx driver accused of killing a 7-year-old Oklahoma girl in Texas was sentenced to death on Tuesday.
KOCO Updated: 5:37 PM CDT May 5, 2026
Addison Kliewer
Special Projects Producer/Digital Editor
FORT WORTH, Texas — A former FedEx driver accused of killing a 7-year-old Oklahoma girl in Texas was sentenced to death on Tuesday.
{snip}
North Texas jury sentences Tanner Horner to death penalty
After listening to testimony for weeks, a Tarrant County jury has sentenced former FedEx delivery driver Tanner Horner to death.
Author: Tina Valverde, Jason Trahan, Rebecca Lopez, Krista Summerville, Paul Livengood, Scoop Jefferson
Published: 2:26 PM CDT May 5, 2026
Updated: 5:31 PM CDT May 5, 2026
FORT WORTH, Texas — After 20 days of testimony, a Tarrant County jury has sentenced Tanner Horner to death for the kidnapping and murder of 7-year-old Athena Strand.
The decision comes after a lengthy sentencing phase, where jurors heard extensive testimony from both the prosecution and defense before determining Horner’s punishment. He had previously pleaded guilty to capital murder, leaving the jury to decide between life in prison and the death penalty.
{snip}
How did we get here?
In November 2022, according to court documents, Horner told police he struck Strand with his delivery van while backing up. He allegedly kidnapped her and strangled her out of fear that she would tell her father about the incident, documents said. On Dec. 2, 2022, he finally led Texas Rangers to the spot where he had hidden her just off a rural road in a few feet of water in Wise County near Boyd, authorities said.
Horner's lawyers have asked the Tarrant County court to take the death penalty off the table, saying he has autism. ... They argued that Horner's Autism Spectrum Disorder "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."
{snip}
After listening to testimony for weeks, a Tarrant County jury has sentenced former FedEx delivery driver Tanner Horner to death.
Author: Tina Valverde, Jason Trahan, Rebecca Lopez, Krista Summerville, Paul Livengood, Scoop Jefferson
Published: 2:26 PM CDT May 5, 2026
Updated: 5:31 PM CDT May 5, 2026
FORT WORTH, Texas — After 20 days of testimony, a Tarrant County jury has sentenced Tanner Horner to death for the kidnapping and murder of 7-year-old Athena Strand.
The decision comes after a lengthy sentencing phase, where jurors heard extensive testimony from both the prosecution and defense before determining Horner’s punishment. He had previously pleaded guilty to capital murder, leaving the jury to decide between life in prison and the death penalty.
{snip}
How did we get here?
In November 2022, according to court documents, Horner told police he struck Strand with his delivery van while backing up. He allegedly kidnapped her and strangled her out of fear that she would tell her father about the incident, documents said. On Dec. 2, 2022, he finally led Texas Rangers to the spot where he had hidden her just off a rural road in a few feet of water in Wise County near Boyd, authorities said.
Horner's lawyers have asked the Tarrant County court to take the death penalty off the table, saying he has autism. ... They argued that Horner's Autism Spectrum Disorder "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."
{snip}