Athena Strand: FedEx 'killer' Tanner Horner hit 7-year-old girl with truck before strangling her to death
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WISE COUNTY, TEXAS: According to an arrest warrant, the FedEx driver who is accused of killing a seven-year-old girl allegedly struck her with his truck before strangling her. Tanner Horner, 31, is charged with kidnapping Athena Strand from her Paradise, Texas, home on Wednesday, November 30, when he was delivering a box there. According to authorities, they are seeking death penalty in connection with the alleged crime.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram was able to acquire a warrant, that states that Horner told the detectives he had strangled the girl. According to an affidavit made public by the Wise County Sheriff's Office, he admitted to detectives that he panicked after accidentally hitting the girl with his truck.
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The warrant indicates that Horner claimed he took her into his van even though she wasn't seriously hurt because he was worried she would inform her father about what happened. According to reports, the alleged killer admitted to trying to break her neck before strangling her and abandoning her body close to a river. According to a report by Fox News Digital, Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin stated his office is requesting death penalty for the heinous crime.
Maitlyn Presley Gandy, the young girl's distraught mother, posted on Facebook on Sunday, December 4 that she hasn't slept since learning that her older child had vanished. In addition to a video of Rye sobbing for her "sissy," Gandy released two images of Athena and her younger sister, Rye, on Monday.
According to Gandy, they believed Athena would only be gone for a few days when they took the video on November 27. "I kept telling her, 'it’s okay, we will see sissy soon,' not knowing how twisted our lives would become," the mother wrote. The devastated mom also posted a photo of her late daughter and mother on Friday, December 9, writing "I know God has you both.. I know you have each other.. but it’s not fair. I need you both and you have both been taken from me. I don’t know how to keep going but know I’m going to fight to the end just like you both did."
According to Texas sheriff Akin, the child’s remains were found in Wise County on Friday, December 2, after hours of searching. The 31-year-old suspect was also reportedly taken into custody on charges of capital murder and aggravated kidnapping. His bond has been set up at $1.5 million, The Sun reported.