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A former FedEx driver who murdered 7-year-old Athena Strand told investigators he “kind of tossed” her into the woods after killing her, according to interrogation video shown to jurors as they weigh whether he should be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole.
The footage shown in court captured the moment officers pressed Tanner Horner about the missing Texas child’s whereabouts after searching his home for signs of the young blonde-haired girl.
“I can show you,” Horner, who pleaded guilty Tuesday to capital murder, told investigators.
When one officer asked, “Is she alive?” Horner replied: “She wasn’t alive when I put her in the truck.”
Jurors were shown an interrogation video of Tanner Horner telling investigators that he “just kind of tossed” 7-year-old Athena Strand after kidnapping her. (KDFW-TV)
After authorities were unable to find her, Horner told police that he: “Just kind of tossed her in.”
Horner, 34, initially claimed he had accidentally hit Athena with his delivery truck, but he has since admitted to strangling the girl after abducting her while delivering a package to her father’s home in Paradise, Texas.
A newly released photo shows 7-year-old Athena Strand shortly before prosecutors say she was abducted and killed by a FedEx driver delivering her Christmas present. (POOL via KDFW-TV)
The hours of evidence shown to jurors Wednesday came as prosecutors used opening statements to paint Horner as calculating, violent and remorseless in the killing of Athena.
“First thing Tanner Horner says to Athena when he picks her up, puts her in that truck, leans down, and he says, ‘Don’t scream or I’ll hurt you,’” prosecutor James Stainton told jurors in opening statements Tuesday.
“I’m going to tell you right now. One thing you’re going to hear that is something you can’t unhear is the level of fight that a 7-year-old girl has. When she’s facing down a certain death.”
Athena Strand, 7, was allegedly kidnapped and murdered by 30-year-old FedEx delivery driver Tanner Lynn Horner. Strand’s father is suing Horner, FedEx and the contractor that hired him. (Wise County Sheriff’s Office)
Stainton also said that the FedEx driver may have sexually assaulted the young girl.
“We have DNA. Not only do we have initial DNA from Athena that has Tanner Horner’s DNA under her fingernails. We also have Tanner Horner’s DNA in places where you shouldn’t find DNA on a 7-year-old girl,” Stainton said in court.
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“We talk about warrior in America,” he said. “I’ll tell you that little girl right there is a warrior. She fought with the strength of 100 men.”
WATCH: Tanner Horner pleads guilty to killing Texas 7-year-old
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In his opening statement, Stainton told jurors Horner’s shifting accounts to investigators were part of a larger “pattern and web of lies,” arguing the only truthful thing he told law enforcement was that he killed Athena.
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Prosecutors said the evidence would show Horner covered a camera, threatened Athena, and carried out a prolonged attack inside the truck before dumping her body in a rural area near Boyd, Texas.
Authorities say the body of 7-year-old Athena Strand was found on Friday, Dec. 2, 2022. (Wise County Sheriff’s Office)
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Stainton told jurors Horner then returned to work, drove the same truck and continued delivering packages as the community searched desperately for the missing child.
Defense attorney Lindsay Thompson told jurors Horner had suffered from brain damage, autism, mental illness and extreme lead exposure, and argued those conditions should be considered as mitigating evidence when the jury decides whether he poses a continuing threat to society.
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Thompson also told jurors Horner had accepted responsibility by pleading guilty and would spend the rest of his life in prison if sentenced to life without parole.
During a press conference at the Wise County Courthouse in Decatur, Texas, on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022, Maitlyn Gandy presented the box that was delivered on the day Athena Strand, 7, was abducted in rural Paradise, Texas. Inside was a Christmas present for Strand. (Amanda McCoy/Star-Telegram/AP)
Athena disappeared in November 2022 from her father’s property in Paradise, a small town northwest of Fort Worth.
Authorities said Horner was delivering a package containing Barbie dolls intended as a Christmas gift for the 7-year-old when he abducted and killed her.
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Her body was found less than 10 miles from the home after a massive search involving law enforcement officers, volunteers, dogs, horses and off-road vehicles.