The mother of Athena Strand, who was allegedly kidnapped and killed by a FedEx driver, has stated that she wants the death penalty for her daughter's killer.
As per NBC News, Strand was reported missing from her father's home on the evening of November 30, and this sparked a widespread search involving over 200 volunteers from the area.
On December 2 it was sadly announced by Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin that Strand's body had been discovered nearly 11 miles away from her father's home.
A FedEx driver - 31- year-old Tanner Lynn Horner - was arrested in connection to the murder and allegedly confessed to officials. CBS News reports that Strand likely died within an hour of being abducted.
Strand's mother, Maitlyn Gandy, recently spoke to WFAA where she revealed she is open to her daughter's killer getting the death penalty if charged.
"I support the death penalty. In any sentencing that may come," Gandy said. "If I could sit down in front of him, I would tell him that he is nothing, but that Athena is absolutely everything, and I will make sure that everybody in this world knows that he is nothing and that she is everything."
Horner allegedly kidnapped Strand after hitting her with his van while delivering a package, which turned out to contain her Christmas present of Barbie dolls. He is claimed to have panicked and put her in his van when she began saying she would tell her father about the incident, resulting in Horner strangling the seven-year-old, as reported by the Daily Mail.
"We are very forgiving people. If Athena was not injured or even if she had a few bumps and scrapes, he could have just driven away. We could have forgiven him," Gandy said.
She continued: "Accidents do happen, but he chose to do more - and what he did was unforgivable. I have a hard time believing Athena couldn't have walked away. Athena could have just walked away, and I wish he would have let her."
Gandy revealed that the hardest moment of the ordeal so far was having to see her daughter's face at her funeral. She released images of Strand's coffin which was bright pink - her favorite color - lined with fur and an image of the smiling seven-year-old.
Gandy has vowed she will fight for justice for her daughter.