Tanner Lynn Horner is seeking to move his capital murder trial out of Wise County.
Horner’s attorney with the Regional Public Defenders Office (RPDO) filed a change of venue motion in 271st District Court in Decatur Wednesday, according to court records.
TANNER LYNN HORNER
Horner is facing a potential death penalty in the murder case of 7-year-old Athena Strand.
RPDO attorney Susan Anderson argued in the motion that “inflammatory pre-trial publicity” about the case would prevent a fair trial. She cites publicity in newspapers (including the Wise County Messenger), television, radio and on social media since Strand’s disappearance on Nov. 30, 2022, from her father’s home in Cottondale.
“Such 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,” the motion states. “Mr. Horner believes he cannot and will not get fair and uninformed jurors who are capable of setting aside the publicity that has already occurred, much less ignore the media coverage that will occur once the trial has begun.”
Anderson said the death penalty is different from every other punishment “because of its severity and finality,” adding that these cases “require heightened scrutiny and reliability,” according to the motion.
Defense counsel retained the services of Bryan Edelman of Trial Innovation, a national jury research firm, to assess the impact of pretrial publicity on Horner’s ability to obtain a fair trial. He reviewed 125 news articles published by the Wise County Messenger, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Dallas Morning News, with 72 of the articles appearing in the Messenger, according to the motion.
A copy of his findings was attached to the motion.
“Given the nature of the pretrial publicity, the size of the county, and the fact the defendant is facing the ultimate punishment, I believe there is a reasonable likelihood that the ‘presumption of innocence’ has been undermined and shifted to a ‘presumption of guilt,’” Edelman wrote in his report. “As such, remedial measures are necessary to protect the defendant’s Constitutional rights to a fair and impartial trial.”
The motion also states that the investigator for the defense team interviewed or attempted to interview a number of Wise County citizens. While the motion says the majority of those interviewed said Horner could not receive a fair trial in Wise County, “they would not provide an affidavit because they did not want the community to think they were ‘helping’ the defense in any way.”
However, the motion does include the affidavits of three Wise County residents — one in Decatur and two in Rhome — stating why they believe Horner could not receive a fair and impartial trial locally.
District Attorney James Stainton said he believes this is a Wise County case and should be tried locally.
Both sides are expected to make their arguments on the motion in front of District Judge Brock Smith at a court hearing Sept. 16.
No trial date has been announced.
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