Victim’s family deliver chilling message to FedEx driver after he is sentenced to death by lethal injection

Warning: Some readers may find this article distressing.

The family of kidnapped and murdered seven-year-old Athena Strand have spoken out after her murderer, FedEx driver Tanner Horner, was sentenced to death.

Athena was abducted as she played outside her family’s house in Texas in November 2022, before Horner then murdered her.

Tanner Horner sentenced to death for the murder of Athena Strand

Horrific audio and video footage from inside the van revealed the extent of 34-year-old Horner’s crimes, as he could be heard telling the young child that she was pretty and instructing her to remove her clothes.

He did not face any sexual assault charges - despite previous separate charges - but his DNA was found in the girl’s underwear and the audio left little doubt that he was the murderer.

Horner had tried to argue that he hit the girl with his van and then later panicked.

On April 7, he plead guilty, leaving the jury to deliberate for 19 days as to whether they would recommend the death penalty by lethal injection or life in prison.

They unanimously agreed that Horner was a threat and could commit future acts of violence.

While in jail, Horner sent a letter to the family of the girl, telling them he was sorry for taking ‘their little angel away’.

The family, naturally, was ‘destroyed’ by Horner’s actions.

The family speaks out against murderer Tanner Horner

During the trial, Athena’s uncle Elijah took to the stand and directly addressed her killer.

He said: “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.

“You say you found God, but what you did to Athena stands in direct opposition to everything that you now claim to believe.”

He continued: “You will face the wrath of God,

“I want you to know that you are nothing. You are a footnote in Athena's story.

“Her name will forever be remembered.

“Her name will forever be celebrated and everyone will forget you.

“You wanted your 15 minutes of fame. You got it. And no one's going to remember you after this.”

In his defence, Horner had argued that he had a difficult upbringing and mental health issues, as well as an autism diagnosis.

That argument was swiftly dismissed by prosecutors who claimed he had spent a long time thinking about committing such a crime.

One legal representative said: “Thousands of people in the world have disabilities. Thousands of people in the world are autistic.

“They get up every day. They live their life. They work, they have families, they struggle, they succeed and they fail.

“But the one thing they never do is use it as a crutch.”

The decision to award the death penalty will automatically go to appeal at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, whereas Horner will be moved to another prison where he will await his execution date.