Wise County prosecutors continued presenting their death penalty case this week in the capital murder trial of Tanner Horner at Fort Worth’s Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center. AMANDA MCCOY/POOL PHOTOGRAPHER VIA FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
Male DNA was detected in swabs taken from Athena Strand, according to a crime lab analyst who tested evidence in her murder investigation.
That was among the evidence prosecutors with the Wise County District Attorney’s Office put forth as they continued to lay out their case this week for why Tanner Horner should receive the death penalty for killing Strand Nov. 30, 2022.
Horner pleaded guilty to capital murder of the 7-year-old last week at the beginning of his trial in Fort Worth.
Jacqueline Ferrara, a forensic analyst with the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab in Garland who processed the sexual assault kit from Strand, testified male DNA was detected in vaginal swabs and anal swabs taken from the child. As of Wednesday morning, evidence had not yet been presented as to whose DNA that could belong to.
The presence of blood and semen was also detected in presumptive tests of a number of items of evidence collected in the case, she testified. Items such as Horner’s shirt and jeans tested positive for semen. A pair of his blue jeans also tested positive for blood.
Fingernail clippings from Strand’s right hand also tested positive for blood, Ferrara testified.
Other DNA analysts were testifying Wednesday as the Messenger was going to press.
With prosecutors arguing there was a sexual element to Horner’s crime with Strand, two witnesses testified Tuesday who said they were previously raped by Horner when they were 16, which is below the age of consent for sex.
One woman testified Horner was 22 at the time of a 2013 assault, and the other testified Horner was 23 at the time of the 2014 assault. The two witnesses — who are not being identified by the Messenger since they were minors at the time of the alleged assaults — appear to be the complainants in Horner’s pending child sexual assault cases in Tarrant County.
In both cases, the women testified they were drinking alcohol and using drugs just prior to the assaults.
The first woman testified that two years after the alleged assault, Horner saw her and tried to kiss her and she said, “no.” He responded by saying, “You were more fun when you were younger.”
She said she has struggled mentally since hearing the news of Strand’s death.
“I’ve felt guilt due to the fact that if I had reported [the sexual assault], things may not have happened to other people as they are accused,” she said.
The other woman said Horner raped her just after she turned 16. She testified that she had talked about her age with Horner prior to the assault and had told him she did not want a physical relationship with him due to her young age.
Prosecutors asked why she didn’t go to law enforcement after the assault.
“Ultimately, I didn’t think I’d be believed,” she said.
Although she didn’t go to law enforcement, she testified that she did make her allegation public, and Horner contacted her in December of 2018 through social media to deny the allegation and to tell her to “stop spreading lies and misinformation about what happened.”
The Monday after Strand’s death, she went to police about the earlier sexual assault, she testified.
“I felt like I’d been put back in 16-year-old me’s body,” she said. “I felt guilt for not coming forward. I felt shame for not speaking up sooner. I felt a lot of pain, reliving those memories over and over again.”
She also testified that Horner had told her he was into BDSM, rougher sex and fantasized about rape.
Earlier on Tuesday, FBI digital forensic analyst Scott Morris testified about performing the digital extraction of Horner’s phone following his arrest.
It showed that in the hours and two days after Strand’s disappearance, Horner had performed a number of searches including “my fiance’s family makes me out to be a demon,” “do FedEx cameras constantly record,” and “Paradise missing girl.” The data also included a number of posts about the search for Strand and more than a dozen photos of the child.
Other items pulled from the phone include an image of a three-circle Venn diagram with “BDSM” in the center. BDSM is an apparent reference to a sexual practice that includes bondage, dominance, submission and sadism. Another image was of a book about sex.
Prosecutors also have spent the past week showing the different version of events Horner gave about the evening Strand went missing.
Evidence was shown earlier in trial that Horner said he backed into Strand with his truck and killed her, but during an interview with Texas Ranger Job Espinoza, Horner said he was talking to Strand when he placed her in his truck, according to a video shown to jurors.
In that interview, Horner first mentions “Zero,” referring to the voice in his head or an alter ego. As investigators were still searching for Strand on Dec. 2, Horner eventually led law enforcement to her body after Espinoza asked to speak to “Zero.”
Strand’s body was found in the Trinity River at the crossing with County Road 4668, also known as Bobo Crossing.
Espinoza was asked why he “played along” with speaking to “Zero.”
“If getting the truth is playing the game, I’m willing to play it,” he testified.
Horner later told investigators that it wasn’t him but “Zero” who killed Strand.
Investigators found what appears to be a child’s sock among garbage behind the Lake Worth home of Tanner Horner. PHOTO FROM VIDEO SHOWN AT TRIAL
District Attorney James Stainton also asked the Ranger about the many inconsistencies or lies Horner told investigators, including that Strand was clothed when he got rid of her body. Horner initially said she was clothed when he put her in the river, but after being presented with evidence that she was not clothed, “Zero” said he threw the clothes on the highway.
Clothes matching the ones Strand was wearing at the time of her disappearance were located behind Horner’s Fort Worth home, according to evidence presented on the third day of the trial. That included a pair of socks, underwear and blue jeans.
Another version of the events of Nov. 30, 2022, was found in letters Horner had written and left in his Wise County jail cell following a suicide attempt in May of 2023. In a letter addressed to law enforcement only, Horner claimed when he arrived at the Strand household that day, another man was there and pointed a rifle at him, telling him to kidnap Athena and bring her to him at a location where bamboo was growing. Horner said he was afraid this man could try to kill him on his way to court or kill his family.
In another letter addressed to Athena’s family, Horner wrote, in part, “I want to start by saying how sorry I am about Athena. The entire time I’ve known my legal council (sic), they’ve continued to tell me how I don’t need to apologize/shouldn’t apologize until the trial and frankly I can’t hold it in any longer. I’ve done a terrible thing to your family and I’m sorry.”
A photo of a pair of Horner’s shoes was shown to the jury along with a photo of similar “zig zag” pattern found on Athena. PHOTO SHOWN AT TRIAL
He goes on to say in the letter how much it has also affected him and his family and mentions that he has Asperger’s Syndrome, which means he’s on the autism spectrum, and seemed to blame FedEx for changing his route, saying he doesn’t deal well with change. He also talked about previous thoughts of suicide.
Dallas County Medical Examiner Dr. Jessica Dwyer who performed Strand’s autopsy testified the child died as a result of blunt force injuries with smothering and strangulation. Prosecutors noted the multiple blunt force injuries found on numerous parts of her body, but primarily on her chest, neck and face. Much of her face and neck had marks described as “zig-zag” patterns, Dwyer said.
The jury also got to see a photo of the “zig zag” pattern injuries on the face of Athena from the autopsy compared to a photo of a similar “zig zag” pattern on the bottom of Horner’s shoes collected at the time of his arrest.
Follow updates on the case at wcmess.com/athena.
Loading Comments