ATHENA STRAND
A new judge in Tarrant County will oversee the capital murder trial of Tanner Horner.
Judge George Gallagher has been appointed to preside over the case moving forward, according to Tarrant County court personnel who confirmed the change Tuesday.
Horner is facing a potential death penalty in the 2022 murder case of 7-year-old Athena Strand.
The move came following the retirement of 297th District Judge David Hagerman on Friday, the source confirmed.
Hagerman’s court had been assigned the case last fall after Horner’s attorneys with the Regional Public Defenders Office (RPDO) successfully argued for a change of venue out of Wise County due to “inflammatory pre-trial publicity” that would prevent a fair trial. 271st District Judge Brock Smith granted the motion, agreeing to move the trial from Decatur to Tarrant County.
A few weeks after being granted the change of venue, Horner said he did not consent to Smith continuing to preside over the case, so the entire case was moved to Tarrant County.
Gallagher is a former judge for the 396th District Court in Tarrant County.
He is no stranger to high-profile cases, having been assigned to preside over the securities fraud case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in 2015. Last year, prosecutors dropped the charges against Paxton after reaching a pre-trial agreement that included 100 hours of community service and close to $300,000 in restitution. Paxton did not have to admit any wrongdoing.
Gallagher also presided over the 2022 trial of Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean, who was found guilty by a Tarrant County jury of manslaughter in the death of Atatiana Jefferson and sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison. The 28-year-old Jefferson was shot and killed inside her home in October of 2019.
Gallagher served as 396th District Judge from 2000 through 2024. He was defeated in the 2024 Republican Primary by Vince Giardino.
The changes do not affect the prosecution of Horner’s case, which will continue to be handled by Wise County District Attorney James Stainton’s office.
TANNER LYNN HORNER
No trial date for Horner’s case has been set.
Horner had previously been jailed in Wise County but was booked into the Tarrant County jail in November, according to online jail records. He remains jailed with bond set at $1.5 million.
Strand went missing from her father’s home in Cottondale Nov. 30, 2022. Two days later, investigators tracked down Horner, a delivery driver, on a nearby delivery route and questioned him about the child’s disappearance. He then led investigators to Strand’s body in the Trinity River near Boyd. An autopsy revealed Strand died from “blunt force injuries with smothering and strangulation” and listed the manner of death as “homicide.”
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