Tanner Lynn Horner

The backstory

The disappearance

On Nov. 30, 2022, Horner, 31, was working as a contract delivery driver on a FedEx route in Wise County, northwest of Fort Worth.¹⁵ He was employed by Big Topspin, a contractor for FedEx, whose employees helped investigators identify the truck and driver.⁶⁴ That afternoon he delivered a package to the home of Athena Strand, 7, near Paradise. Her family later said it was a Christmas present, a box of Barbie dolls.²⁴¹³ Her stepmother testified that Athena was supposed to be sorting laundry while she made dinner, and the stepmother called 911 that evening to report her missing.¹³⁵

The investigation

An FBI agent testified that Horner at first said he did not recall the delivery, then admitted it, and that video from the truck showed him placing a young girl in his van.¹³¹⁵ According to the arrest affidavit, Horner told investigators he had accidentally hit Athena while backing out of the driveway, that she was not seriously hurt, and that he panicked, put her in the van and killed her because he feared she would tell her father he had hit her.⁴⁵ He directed investigators to her body, in water near Boyd in Wise County.⁴²⁴ He was charged with capital murder and aggravated kidnapping, with bail set at $1.5 million.⁴⁵

A Texas Ranger testified at trial that Horner gave accurate information only after investigators addressed him as “Zero,” a purported alter ego the Ranger believed Horner had invented; “I played his game, and I spoke to Zero,” he testified.²²²¹

Charges and pretrial

A Wise County grand jury indicted Horner on Feb. 16, 2023, on one count of capital murder, described in the Star-Telegram’s report as capital murder of a person under 10, and one count of aggravated kidnapping.⁸¹⁴ He pleaded not guilty in 2023.¹⁴ Stainton announced that the state would seek the death penalty.¹⁴

In September 2024, Judge Brock Smith of the 271st District Court granted a defense request to move the trial to Tarrant County, after Horner’s lawyers argued that “inflammatory pre-trial publicity” would deny him a fair trial in Wise County.⁹¹⁰ Stainton said the “change in geography will not change how we handle this case in any way.”⁹ Judge George Gallagher presided at trial.¹⁵¹²

On Jan. 13, 2026, the defense moved to bar a death sentence on the ground that Horner’s autism “reduces his moral blameworthiness,” arguing that he deserved protection similar to that given intellectually disabled defendants under the Eighth Amendment.¹²¹¹ Defense attorney Susan Anderson acknowledged that autism is not classified as an intellectual disability. Stainton objected that the motion included no evidence Horner had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Gallagher denied the motion at a hearing on Jan. 21 but said the defense could present the same evidence to the jury.¹²

The guilty plea

On April 7, 2026, before jurors entered the courtroom, Horner pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping.¹⁵¹⁴ Asked for his plea to the capital murder charge, he answered, “Guilty, your honor,” and the judge accepted it.¹³ The plea left the jury to decide only between death and life in prison without parole.¹⁴¹⁵

The state’s evidence at punishment

In his opening statement, Stainton told jurors that Horner had lied about everything except the killing, and that the account of hitting Athena with the truck was false.¹³ The state showed jurors an image from inside the truck that, as Fox 4 described it, showed Athena alert and unharmed.¹³ A Texas Ranger testified that the truck’s video showed her alive when she was put in the truck, contrary to Horner’s claim that she was already dead.¹⁵²¹

The truck’s camera was covered, but its audio kept recording. The Associated Press reported that the recording runs more than an hour and captures Horner lifting Athena into the van, warning her not to scream, and threatening to hurt her.²⁴¹³ Several jurors cried as it was played.²⁴ The medical examiner testified that she died of blunt force injuries with smothering and strangulation, the AP reported.²⁴

Prosecutors also argued that forensic evidence pointed to a sexual assault. A DNA analyst testified that male DNA was detected in samples from Athena’s sexual assault kit and that other results were inconclusive.¹⁷¹⁶ Horner has denied sexually assaulting her, and his lawyers told the jury that the medical examiner’s report showed no sign of sexual trauma.²¹²³ The sources reviewed report no sexual-assault charge in Athena’s death.

Other allegations heard by the jury

Two women, whose names were withheld, testified that Horner sexually assaulted them when they were 16, one in the summer of 2013 and the other in 2014.²¹¹⁶ The defense challenged their credibility.¹⁷ Fox 4 reported that one of the women is the complainant in sexual-assault-of-a-child cases pending against Horner in Tarrant County.¹⁶ Those charges were filed in December 2022.⁷ None of these allegations has been tried. The sources reviewed do not report the current status of the Tarrant County charges.

The mitigation case

The defense presented more than a week of testimony from family members, school staff, psychiatrists and other experts.²² Steven Goble told jurors in his opening that the evidence would show mental illness, lead poisoning and brain damage, which he suggested began with alcohol exposure before birth.¹³

Dr. Aaron Specht, a Purdue University exposure-assessment researcher, testified that a bone scan taken at the Tarrant County jail showed lead levels about 24 times those of Horner’s peers. On cross-examination he acknowledged that no record shows Horner was treated for lead exposure.¹⁸¹⁹ Dr. Jeffery David Lewine, a neuroscientist, testified that the number of abnormalities on Horner’s brain scans would be seen in “less than .01% of the population.” He acknowledged on cross-examination that he cannot make a diagnosis, and said, “From the imaging alone, I cannot say anything specific about Mr. Horner’s behavioral pattern.”¹⁹

A speech-language pathologist retained by the defense testified about the social-communication aspects of autism. She said she was not qualified to diagnose autism and was not offering an opinion that it caused the crime.²⁰ A former school speech pathologist, asked whether autism caused the crime, answered, “No, I’m saying it did not.”¹⁹

Why the jury chose death

Texas does not use statutory aggravating circumstances. A death sentence follows from a capital-murder conviction, here for the murder of a child under 10, together with the jury’s answers to special issues.²³⁸ Horner’s jury was asked two questions: whether he would probably commit criminal acts of violence constituting a continuing threat to society, and whether mitigating circumstances warranted life without parole instead of death.²³³

In closing, Stainton urged jurors to answer “yes and no,” called the defense’s evidence “an excuse,” and described the disabilities the defense cited as a matter of “somebody’s choices.”²³ Goble argued that the state had offered no evidence that Horner would be a danger in prison. Anderson asked for mercy, citing his upbringing and diagnoses of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, ADHD and autism, and said, “There was no planning. There was no premeditation. There was no preparation.”²³

On May 5, 2026, after about two and a half hours of deliberation, the jury unanimously answered “yes” to the first question and “no” to the second, answers that under Texas law require a death sentence.²³²⁴³ Horner showed no visible reaction.²³²⁴

After the verdict

Horner’s lawyer filed a notice of appeal with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on May 11, 2026.²⁵²⁶ The defense also moved for a new trial, arguing that media coverage led key witnesses to refuse to testify. The state opposed the motion.²⁷ Gallagher did not sign an order, and the motion was denied by operation of law, Fox 4 and NBC 5 reported on Aug. 3.²⁸²⁹ The death sentence is subject to automatic review by the Court of Criminal Appeals.³²⁹

Athena’s father filed a civil suit in Wise County in December 2022 against Horner, FedEx and Big Topspin, alleging negligent hiring.⁶ The sources reviewed do not report its current status.

Personal backstory

Early life

Horner was born on Aug. 8, 1991.¹ His mother testified that she used heroin, methamphetamine and alcohol, “anything I could get my hands on,” until she learned she was about eight or nine weeks pregnant with him, and then tried to stop.¹⁸ KERA reported her testimony that she also drank and smoked during the pregnancy.²¹ Relatives testified that his father struggled with drug addiction and spent much of his life incarcerated.¹⁸ A cousin who babysat him as a toddler described him as hyperactive and prone to extreme tantrums, and said he tried to eat coins.¹⁸

Schooling and diagnosis

His mother testified that he struggled to get along with other children and that, after testing at a specialized center, he was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a diagnosis now grouped under autism spectrum disorder.¹⁸²¹ A retired Azle school district psychologist testified that he received special education services tied to an autism diagnosis and spent half the school day in a behavior class, and that his school records showed no history of physical aggression.¹⁸¹⁹ A fifth-grade teacher recalled no major behavior problems. A speech pathologist who worked with him in seventh grade testified that he had trouble reading social cues, was bullied, and got angry when he did not understand things; “He was a great kid,” she said.¹⁹ The prison system records 12th grade as his highest grade completed.¹

No court has made a finding on his diagnoses. His lawyers cited diagnoses of autism, ADHD and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, while the state disputed what the evidence showed.²³¹²

Before the crime

Horner lived in Fort Worth at the time of his arrest and was working as a FedEx contract driver.⁵¹ The prison system lists no prior prison record.¹

In custody

Jail letters shown to the jury gave differing accounts: one blamed a “mental breakdown,” and another claimed an unidentified man forced him to commit the crime.¹⁸ The defense’s speech-language pathologist testified that a suicide letter he wrote reflected remorse; on cross-examination she agreed that in it “he is not fully accepting blame for this and he is trying to make an excuse.”²⁰ He was received on Texas death row on May 5, 2026, at age 34.¹