FedEx driver sentenced to death for murder of 7-year-old Athena Strand in Texas

U.S. newsFedEx driver sentenced to death for murder of 7-year-old Athena Strand in Texas Tanner Horner in April pleaded guilty to killing the girl in 2022 after delivering a Christmas gift to her home in Wise County.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Tanner Horner, the former FedEx driver who admitted to kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Athena Strand in November 2022, was sentenced to death Tuesday by a North Texas jury.NBC DFWShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 5, 2026, 6:02 PM EDTBy Phil HelselA former FedEx delivery driver who pleaded guilty to killing a 7-year-old girl in Texas was sentenced to death Tuesday.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The jury handed down the death penalty for Tanner Horner after a court proceeding that lasted more than two weeks.Horner, 34, was set to go on trial when he pleaded guilty April 7 in the kidnapping and killing of Athena Strand in rural Wise County in November 2022."There are no words that truly capture the devastation that Tanner Horner caused us and our family,” Athena's uncle, Elijah Strand, said in court after the death sentence was read.Athena Strand.Texas Dept. of Public Safety"It was the best thing to see her running up to me with her arms open, yelling ‘Uncle Elijah,’ and it’s one of my last memories I have of her," Strand said. "And now I get to never hear that again."Horner stood but showed no outward emotion as Judge George Gallagher sentenced him to be executed before sunrise on a date later to be determined in Huntsville.Texas uses lethal injection to carry out executions. Horner had delivered a Christmas present to the family’s home in the rural town of Paradise on Nov. 30, 2022, the day Athena went missing. Her body was found two days later, according to officials.Horner has said he had struck the girl with his van and strangled her in a panic. Wise County District Attorney James Stainton said Horner killed the girl and called his ex...