Nearly 3 1/2 years after the death of 7-year-old Athena Strand, the man accused of her murder will place his fate in the hands of a jury beginning next week.
TANNER LYNN HORNER
Tanner Lynn Horner, 34, is charged with capital murder, and prosecutors will seek the death penalty if he is found guilty.
Jury selection, which began at the end of January, has been completed, and opening statements in the case are set to begin Tuesday morning in Tarrant County.
The trial will be held in the 297th District Court in Fort Worth after the case was moved from Wise County in 2024 at the request of Horner’s attorneys, who argued their client could not receive a fair trial locally due to “inflammatory pre-trial publicity.” Judge George Gallagher was appointed last year to preside over the case.
An autopsy report found Strand suffered blunt force injuries to her head and neck along with evidence of asphyxia. The report lists the cause of death as “blunt force injuries with smothering and strangulation” and the manner of death as “homicide.”
Horner was indicted for capital murder and aggravated kidnapping of Strand in February of 2023, 2 1/2 months after his arrest. Following that indictment, prosecutors with the Wise County District Attorney’s Office announced they intended to seek the death penalty upon conviction.
District Attorney James Stainton told the Messenger in February of 2023 that the decision to seek the death penalty was made due to the age of Strand and evidence of a high level of violence that contributed to her death.
ATHENA STRAND
“You look at that little girl’s face and you just ask yourself, ‘why?’ It’s just the brutal nature of what went on, the level of violence that the guy brought to this. It’s just unspeakable. I do not comprehend how an individual can do this with that level of violence to a child,” Stainton said in 2023.
Horner was driving a FedEx truck and made a delivery to Strand’s Cottondale home on Nov. 30, 2022, about the time the 7-year-old went missing, according to investigators. Two days later, investigators tracked down Horner while he was on a delivery route in the Cottondale area for questioning about the child’s disappearance. He told investigators he accidentally struck Strand with his delivery vehicle at the home and later strangled her so she wouldn’t tell her father what happened, according to an arrest affidavit in the case.
He then led investigators to County Road 4668 (Bobo Crossing) near Boyd where investigators found Strand’s body in the water at the Trinity River crossing, the affidavit states.
Horner is being represented by attorneys with the Regional Public Defenders Office.
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