Texas Sheriff Recommends Death Penalty for Man Accused of Killing 7-Year-Old Athena Strand

A Texas sheriff working on the Athena Strand, 7, murder case says he will recommend to the district attorney to seek the death penalty against accused killer Tanner Horner, 31.

“Because of the age of that child and because it was an abduction, we are going to [ask the district attorney to] pursue the death penalty,” Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin stated Wednesday.

Horner has already been charged with murder and aggravated kidnapping, but Akin noted that investigators are still receiving information from the public, WFAA 8 reported. Akin says he wants to build a strong case against Horner before handing it over to the district attorney, which they expect to do by next week.

Athena was reported missing on November 30 but was found two days later after Horner confessed to abducting and killing her. He showed investigators where he had left her body in Boyd, approximately ten miles from where she was abducted at her home in Paradise.

BREAKING: Wise County officials announce they recovered the body of 7-year-old Athena Strand. A FedEx driver is in custody with a $1.5M bond related to her abduction and death. Sending my condolences to the north Texas family😢💔 pic.twitter.com/vaBsVAQBlU

— Tahlia (@TahliaSG) December 3, 2022

Fox 4 reported that Horner was dropping off Athena’s Christmas present, a barbie doll set, at the home the day she went missing.

According to an arrest affidavit obtained by CBS DFW, Horner told investigators that he was backing up his FedEx truck at their home but accidentally hit Athena with it. While she was still alive, the defendant panicked and placed her in the van before driving off.

After Athena told him her name, he attempted to break her neck but was unsuccessful. He then strangled her to death with his bare hands in the back of the van, the affidavit stated. Horner told investigators he killed Athena because he feared she would tell her father about being hit by his truck.

The accused FedEx driver is currently in jail, with his bond set at $1.5 million.

“This community does not like losing our children,” Akin said during a press conference Friday. “And we can see it because of all the people who came out and helped us throughout this ordeal.”

You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.