US driver, 34, sentenced to death for kidnapping & killing girl, 7, after delivering Barbie Christmas gift

A former FedEx delivery driver has been sentenced to death for kidnapping and killing a seven-year-old girl in Texas after delivering a Christmas gift to her home.

Tanner Horner, 34, pleaded guilty on Apr. 7 to capital murder of a person under the age of 10 and aggravated kidnapping over the 2022 death of Athena Strand.

Sentenced to death

A jury in Tarrant County, Texas, sentenced Horner to death on Tuesday (May. 5), after more than two weeks of court proceedings.

The jury had been deciding whether Horner should receive the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The jury found that Horner posed a continuing threat to society and rejected the presence of mitigating factors that would justify a life sentence instead, according to NBC News.

An automatic appeal was filed after the sentence was handed down.

Delivered Christmas gift to her home

Athena went missing on Nov. 30, 2022, after Horner delivered a package to her family’s home in Paradise, Texas, a rural town in Wise County.

The package reportedly contained a set of “You can be anything” Barbies, which had been intended as a Christmas gift for Athena, according to The New York Times.

According to authorities, Athena had stepped off her school bus at around 4:15pm that day.

She was reported missing by her stepmother at around 6:10pm, triggering a search involving several law enforcement agencies and nearly 200 volunteers.

Her body was found two days later.

Horner told investigators he had accidentally hit the child with his delivery truck while reversing out of the driveway.

He said that Athena did not appear seriously injured after allegedly being hit, as cited by NBC News, but that he panicked, placed her into his van and strangled her as he feared she would tell her father what had happened.

Prosecutors pushed for death penalty, defence cited mental health

In closing arguments, District Attorney James Stainton told jurors that the death penalty should be reserved for the most extreme cases, but argued that Horner’s case met that threshold.

He said, according to NBC News:

“Tanner Horner is proof why parents hug their children a little tighter. He’s proof of why children are nervous to go play outside.”

Horner’s defence team argued that he should instead be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The defence said Horner’s mother drank heavily while pregnant, and that he had been diagnosed with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, which can cause emotional and cognitive difficulties.

“Tanner’s problems began before he was even born,” defence attorney Susan Anderson said in closing arguments, as she asked the jury to show mercy.

The defence rested its case on Monday (May. 4), before the jury returned its verdict the next day after more than two hours of deliberation.

Family says Athena’s death destroyed them

After the sentence was read, Athena’s uncle, Elijah Strand, delivered an emotional impact statement on behalf of the family.

“There are no words that truly capture the devastation that Tanner Horner caused us and our family,” he said, as cited by CBS News.

He said Horner had taken not only a daughter, but also a granddaughter, sister, niece, cousin and friend from the family.

He said:

“She had dreams that she will never get to chase, birthdays that she will never celebrate and a life she’ll never get to live, because of his actions."

Elijah said Horner had robbed the family of their sense of safety, leaving them afraid to let their children play outside.

"You did not just take a life; you destroyed a family. You took a little girl who trusted the world and repaid that innocence with violence. You chose to cause pain that will last generations.”

Addressing Horner directly, Elijah said Athena’s name would be remembered and celebrated.

“I want you to know you are a footnote in Athena's story… Her name will be forever celebrated, and everyone will forget you."