Relatives, teachers and investigators described the child behind a Texas death penalty case.
FORT WORTH, Texas — The punishment trial for Tanner Lynn Horner has brought Athena Strand’s family, teacher and former sheriff before jurors as they decide whether the man who admitted killing her should be sentenced to death.
Horner pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping in the death of Athena, a 7-year-old Wise County girl who vanished from her home near Paradise after a holiday package delivery in 2022. His plea settled the question of guilt, but it left jurors with the most severe sentencing decision in Texas criminal law: death or life in prison without parole.
Before jurors heard extended testimony about Horner’s background, they heard about Athena’s life. Her elementary school teacher, Lindsey Thompson, described her as a “typical 7-year-old girl” who loved drawing, writing and coloring. Thompson said Athena smiled often, spoke her mind and stood up for herself. She remembered students getting ready for the school Christmas program before Thanksgiving break. Athena’s final journal entry, read after her death, was about being safe and staying away from strangers. Thompson told jurors that after a difficult day in class, she had told Athena, “I love you and we will have a better day tomorrow.” When a prosecutor asked if that tomorrow came, Thompson answered, “No.”
Athena’s father, Jacob Strand, gave jurors another view of the child before the search began. He said he spent time with Athena and another child after work on Nov. 30, 2022, before leaving for a camping trip with his father. Athena ran back to him as he was backing out of the driveway, and he hugged her goodbye. He said that was the last time he saw her alive. After Athena was reported missing, Jacob Strand searched where officers allowed him to search. “I know the woods like the back of my hand,” he said. He testified that he still lives on the property and visits a favorite fruitless pear tree that Athena used to climb with her sister.
Elizabeth “Ashley” Strand, Athena’s stepmother, testified about the first frantic hours after the child disappeared. She initially believed Athena might be hiding on the property. When that search failed, she called authorities. The case drew a large response as officers and volunteers searched the rural area. Ashley Strand later told jurors that the killing continues to shape daily life for the family. She said another child in the home now runs or hides when delivery drivers appear and has nightmares. Her testimony placed the ordinary setting of the case, a home, a driveway and a package, beside the fear that remained after investigators said Athena was taken by a man working a delivery route.
The family’s hope ended when Athena’s body was found miles away near Boyd. Former Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin testified that he went to the scene before notifying the family. He became emotional as he described returning to tell them. “It was heartbreaking, and they were just devastated,” Akin said. “We were hoping, right to the last minute, that she was alive and well.” The search had begun as a missing child case and became a murder investigation after investigators connected the delivery made at the home to Horner. The body was found about two days after Athena disappeared, at a location the state has described as a water recovery scene in Wise County.
Horner was working as a contracted delivery driver on the day Athena vanished. Authorities said he delivered a package that included Barbie dolls intended as a Christmas gift. Investigators later reviewed truck camera footage that they said showed Horner placing a small girl into the back of the delivery van. Prosecutors said the video captured him speaking to her and that the audio recorded the child’s final moments, though the camera lens was covered during the killing. Jurors were told that the first words Horner said after putting Athena in the vehicle were, “Don’t scream or I’ll hurt you.” The state has argued that those words and the covered camera undercut Horner’s claim that the killing followed a sudden accident.
Horner initially told investigators he accidentally struck Athena with his van while backing up, then panicked and killed her because he feared she would tell her father. Prosecutors have called that story false. Testimony has shown that Horner gave changing accounts. FBI Special Agent Patrick McGuire said Horner first said he did not remember the delivery, then said he recalled it and had seen a green van leaving the driveway. Officers were alerted to look for that vehicle, but investigators later concluded it was not real. Prosecutors say the only meaningful truth in Horner’s statements was his admission that he killed Athena. Horner’s guilty plea on April 7, 2026, made that admission formal in court.
The punishment phase has asked jurors to hold two kinds of testimony at once: evidence of what happened to Athena and evidence about Horner’s life before the crime. His lawyers have asked jurors to choose life without parole. They have described autism, mental health problems, possible brain damage and childhood instability. Horner’s mother testified about substance abuse, abuse in the home and years of struggle. She also spoke of shame and anger after hearing more details in court. Defense experts have said Horner had developmental problems and limited support when he was young. Prosecutors have pushed back, arguing that difficult history does not erase the choices Horner made on the delivery route.
The courtroom has also reflected the public grief that followed Athena’s death. Some people have worn pink in her memory. Defense lawyers raised concerns after the guilty plea about observers wearing pink in the courtroom, but State District Judge George Gallagher did not stop the proceedings. The case had already been moved from Wise County to Tarrant County because defense attorneys said heavy local coverage would make it hard to seat an impartial jury in the county where Athena disappeared. The move placed the trial in Fort Worth, but much of the testimony has remained fixed on the family property, the delivery route and the recovery site in Wise County.
Athena’s name also became part of a change in Texas missing child alerts. After the killing, lawmakers approved the Athena Alert, a tool meant to allow an Amber Alert-style notice when a child is missing and believed to be in danger even if officials have not confirmed every usual Amber Alert requirement. That change is not the question before the sentencing jury, but it shows how the case reached beyond one family and one courtroom. Prosecutors have focused jurors on the facts of Athena’s death. The defense has focused jurors on whether Horner’s life and diagnoses should keep him off death row.
The sentence will be decided under Texas capital murder procedures. If jurors answer the required punishment questions in a way that supports the death penalty, Horner can be sentenced to death. If they do not, he will receive life in prison without parole. Both sides are expected to use closing arguments to return to the same stark question from different directions. Prosecutors are expected to argue that Athena’s abduction, killing and the evidence of deception call for death. Defense lawyers are expected to argue that life without parole is certain punishment and that Horner’s impairments matter.
Athena’s family has heard Horner admit guilt but has not heard the final sentence. Jurors continue to receive punishment evidence in Fort Worth. The next milestone is the end of testimony, followed by closing arguments and deliberations on whether Horner lives or dies in prison.
Author note: Last updated April 28, 2026.