US3 min(s) read
Published 10:03 11 Apr 2026 GMT
A FedEx driver made an outrageous request to police after being arrested for killing seven-year-old Athena Strand.
Tanner Horner, 34, attempted to bargain with investigators for a month at home with his family over Christmas in exchange for details about the crime.
In the interrogation video shown to jurors in court, Horner told them: "I imagine that you have, basically, a list and bullet points that you want to know from me. There’s only one thing in this world that I want... I want a month," per NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.
"Even if y’all have to put an ankle monitor on me, GPS monitor, check-ups with you," he said. "If you give me a month with my family, so I can have Christmas with my son, I’ll tell you everything."
When officers made clear the request was likely impossible, the suspect chillingly responded: "Either way, that’s basically my price."
Prosecutors say Horner abducted Athena on November 30, 2022, while delivering a package of Barbies to her home in Lake Worth, Texas, intended as a Christmas gift.
Audio recorded inside the delivery vehicle has become a key piece of evidence. According to prosecutor James Stainton, the first thing Horner does is put the child "in that truck, leans down, and he says, 'Don't scream or I'll hurt you'."
He warned the court about the distressing nature of the evidence, adding: "One thing you’re going to hear that is something you can’t unhear is the level of fight that a seven-year-old girl has.
"I’ll tell you that little girl right there is a warrior. She fought with the strength of 100 men," he added.
Additional evidence presented in court includes the driver's DNA found under the seven-year-old's fingernails and in "places where you shouldn't find DNA."
Horner initially told police he had accidentally struck Athena with his vehicle and killed her in a panic, but that version of events was later dismissed.
Images shown in court appear to show the little girl inside the van alive and conscious, contradicting his earlier account, and further footage from the vehicle’s dashcam allegedly shows Horner placing her into the back of the van.
In addition to this, bodycam footage captured the moment he began to confess. When asked about Athena’s whereabouts, he told officers: "I can show you."
When questioned: "Is she alive?" he replied: "She wasn't alive when I put her in the truck."
Prosecutors say he later dumped her body in a wooded area near the Trinity River after killing her.
Horner has now pleaded guilty to murder, capital murder, and aggravated kidnapping.
Jurors are tasked with deciding his fate, with the possibility of the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
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