A Tarrant County jury sentences Tanner Horner to death for the 2022 kidnapping and murder of 7-year-old Athena Strand in Texas. Horner, a former FedEx delivery driver, pleaded guilty in April after earlier proceedings connected him to the case. The reporting describes how Horner delivered packages to the Strand family home in Paradise, Texas, and then kidnapped Athena Strand shortly afterward. Prosecutors say Horner strangled the girl and removed her from the home before her disappearance was discovered. Several outlets report that her body was found days later in a river, following her being reported missing from her father’s rural home in late 2022.
At sentencing, the jury delivers a death penalty verdict. Coverage also notes that the case includes elements such as the Christmas gift aspect tied to the delivery made to the family and details presented during the trial. The sources agree on the sentence, the identity of the defendant, the victim, the location, and the central events leading from a delivery to the kidnapping and subsequent killing.
