‘In Her Favorite Color’: Athena Strand’s Family Breaks Down, Hug Each Other as FedEx Driver Gets Death Sentence

Wearing pink in honor of her favorite color, the family of 7-year-old Athena Strand watched as a jury sentenced her killer, former FedEx driver Tanner Horner, to death on May 5, bringing what they described as long-awaited justice. Horner had earlier pleaded guilty to kidnapping and murdering the child and was sentenced on the 17th day of his trial in Tarrant County.

Judge George Gallagher read out the sentence after the jury deliberated for less than three hours.

Strand’s family had been waiting for this moment since November 2022, when Horner lured the girl into the back of his FedEx truck outside her father’s home in Wise County, Texas. He had been delivering a package that ironically contained a set of “You Can Be Anything” Barbie dolls intended as a Christmas gift.

Investigators said video and audio evidence showed that Horner s------- assaulted the child before killing her and dumping her body in the Trinity River. Authorities arrested him on December 2, 2022, after tracing the package and reviewing surveillance footage that showed him placing Strand in the truck.

Inside the courtroom, family members were visibly emotional. After the sentence was read, Strand’s mother embraced her sister. Although the family chose not to speak publicly, Wise County Attorney James Stainton said they felt justice had been served.

“They feel like it’s justice,” Stainton said.

During the sentencing hearing, jurors also heard recordings of jailhouse phone calls between Horner and his mother.

In one of the recorded phone calls, he denied harming the girl. In another, when asked whether the child died on her own, he responded, “No.”

Earlier in the investigation, authorities initially encountered a contractor who falsely confessed to the crime and directed police to the body. Investigators later identified Horner as the suspect through evidence linked to the delivery, leading to his arrest.