Posted on 05/05/2026 7:03:28 PM PDT by lowbridge
FedEx driver Tanner Horner has been sentenced to death for the murder of 7-year-old Athena Strand by a Texas Jury following a gut-wrenching trial that detailed his psychotic behavior during the killing.
The confessed killer learned his sentence at a court in Fort Worth, Texas, some 40 miles southeast of where Strand’s naked body was dumped in a creek on Nov. 30, 2022.
Jurors deliberated for about three hours after arguments rested Tuesday.
Horner appeared utterly unmoved by the verdict – with not a flicker of emotion on his face as the judge said he’d die by lethal injection “before the hour of sunrise” at a future date.
And his face was equally blank when he turned to listen to Athena’s uncle, Elijah Strand, address the court.
“You will be judged. You will face the wrath of god,” Athena’s uncle said, pointing at Horner as he spoke.
“But I want you to know that you are nothing. You are a footnote in Athena’s story,” he added. “Her name will forever be remembered. Her name will be forever celebrated.”
“Everyone will forget you. You wanted your 15 minutes of fame. You got it. And no one is going to remember you after this,” the uncle said, fighting back tears.
Athena’s mother – her hair dyed the her daughter’s favorite color, pink – also wiped away tears in the gallery, the arm of a loved one around her.
His death sentence was automatically appealed, which is standard procedure when capital punishments are handed down in Texas.
All Horner said during the sentencing was “Yes sir,” when the judge asked him about the appeal.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
In the year 2050.
He did confess and plead guilty.
I’m glad he’ll get his due.
Now what about FedEx, should't they pay up too?
That's a matter for a civil trial.
Need more millstones................
Texas kills its killers.
Ron White: “If you come to Texas and kill somebody, we will kill you back.”
Sigh. Employers are liable for torts committed within their job duties. If he had been negligent and run her over, then FedEx would be on the hook. Kidnapping and murder aren’t part of his job duties. If they get sued they’ll throw a hundred or two hundred grand for sympathy, but they have no legal liability
I'd like to help. I'm free this weekend.
Like I said, civil court. I can see an avenue for finding liability in that they "should have" ensured they weren't hiring a criminal pervert ... but I think that would be a long-shot.
I can see them spending a good bit of money to make a "wrongful death" type of lawsuit go away. I don't see any possibility of criminal guilt ... but I'm not a lawyer.
Ron White: “If you come to Texas and kill somebody, we will kill you back.”
Yeah, in about 20 years.
Just pointing out a huge double standard: when a government employee does something horrible, like a police officer or government school teacher, their employment is always and immediately prefixed as "former police" or "ex-teacher". The media always spins a story to protect big government. Not so for a private employer, even if they have "Federal" in their name.
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