Tanner Horner who killed 7-year-old girl Athena Strand sentenced to Capital punishment
Published by RawNews1st
4:37 pm (5-5-2026)
A Tarrant County jury sentenced Tanner Horner to death in the 2022 kidnapping and murder of 7-year-old Athena Strand on Tuesday.
Horner pleaded guilty to the crime just moments before his trial began last month. The judge ordered that the trial transition into the sentencing phase, in which the jury had been hearing emotional testimony, watching and listening to graphic video and audio of Strand’s last moments as prosecutors made their case for the death penalty.
Among heart-wrenching testimony, the jury heard testimony from both of Strand’s parents.
The decision came after Horner pleaded guilty on April 7 to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping in the death of the first-grader.
Jurors were then left to decide whether to sentence him to death or life in prison without parole. The jury came to their verdict after just about 3 hours of deliberations.
Horner stone-facedly listened to the judge deliver his death sentence, and simply said “yes” when asked about the appointment of counsel for his appeal.
On Tuesday, May 5, jurors heard closing arguments from the defense and the prosecution.
According to the arrest warrant, Horner told investigators that he strangled the 7-year-old after accidentally hitting her with his van while making a delivery at her father’s home. He said Strand wasn’t seriously hurt after he hit her while backing up, but he panicked and put her in his van.
