TX - Athena Strand, 8, Abducted & Murdered By FedEx Contract Driver, Tanner Horner, Paradise, 2022 #2

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ChitBrick said:
PER FOX 4 NEWS::
WISE COUNTY, Texas - The disturbing details of 7-year-old Athena Strand's death came to light Thursday in a newly filed arrest affidavit for contracted FedEx delivery driver Tanner Horner.

In a confession to investigators, Horner reportedly said he had finished delivering a package at Strand's home in Paradise. He said he was backing up his FedEx truck, when he accidentally hit Athena with the truck.

Horner told investigators that Athena was alive, but was not seriously hurt at the time. He said she was talking to him, even telling him her name.

The delivery driver said he panicked and put her into the van, according to court documents.

Horner then attempted to break the 7-year-old's neck to kill her. When that didn't work, he strangled the girl in the back of the FedEx van.

The delivery driver said he strangled the girl because he was afraid she was going to tell her father that he hit her with the van.

Authorities say Horner then directed investigators to CR 4668 in Boyd, where he dumped her body.

The official cause of death for Athena has not been released at this time.
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dgfred said:
Yeah. I was worried she would tell she was hit by the vehicle... so I killed her. I wasn't worried anybody would find out about that. Dang
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Grrrr !
Not buying this story at this time.
Do these trucks have cams that show the rear view ?
 
I don't believe him. I'll believe the autopsy.

I don't know how to process the sisters living in a shed. I'd read that days ago on social media, but dismissed it because social media is rife with rumors and that seemed pretty out there. But this one appears to be true (it's in the arrest affidavit and the stepmother admits it). It explains why Athena had unsupervised freedom of movement since she didn't live in the house. She could leave the shed unsupervised however often she liked, which she apparently did that day, without the stepmother knowing. I don't believe she was struck by the FedEx vehicle which is dead easy to avoid for 7 year old.

I think the driver is leaving out details that portray him in a poor light. There is no reason to attempt to break the neck of an accident victim and go on to admit the strangled her. Something happened in between he is not confessing to. And whatever that was, it happened in the back of the truck. My opinions only.
 
Wow..part of me was hoping he hit her with the truck and panicked and disposed of her body. Killing her with his own hands to keep her from telling her dad? I don’t even know what to say about that..I guess autopsy results will be telling.
 
Fargo said:
I don't believe him. I'll believe the autopsy.

I don't know how to process the sisters living in a shed. I'd read that days ago on social media, but dismissed it because social media is rife with rumors and that seemed pretty out there. But this one appears to be true (it's in the arrest affidavit and the stepmother admits it). It explains why Athena had unsupervised freedom of movement since she didn't live in the house. She could leave the shed unsupervised however often she liked, which she apparently did that day, without the stepmother knowing. I don't believe she was struck by the FedEx vehicle which is dead easy to avoid for 7 year old.

I think the driver is leaving out details that portray him in a poor light. There is no reason to attempt to break the neck of an accident victim and go on to admit the strangled her. Something happened in between he is not confessing to. And whatever that was, it happened in the back of the truck. My opinions only.
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BBM, Right? I'd seen those rumors and thought people were just making things up to make the stepmom look bad and like Athena's living situation was less than ideal. I'm shocked to find out that Athena was living in a shed.

I wonder if the living conditions contributed to the delay in the amber alert, IIRC it wasn't issued until 5:30a the next morning.
 
dgfred said:
There is always liability if a worker (of your company) injures or destroys/damages something.

Say he is working for JoeEx and runs over your mailbox... they would pay.
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Running over a mailbox in the course of carrying out work, isn't really the same as murdering a child.
If the mother goes the route of suing, she'd probably get an out of court settlement just to shut up the jabbering on social media, rather than out of any kind of legit guilt. Which is a net negative for society, honestly.
Unless, he ran her over and then took her to dispose of her....

Ontario Mom said:
100%

He spins a narrative that immediately starts with an accident - it wasn't his fault.
Then the cover up of the accident.
Agreed, he's leaving details out.

jmo
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TBH, I'm not sold that he actually intended to kidnap her. The swiftness of her death from leaving the home is kind of strange. It's exceptionally quick.
I also don't like the speed in which the sheriff has announced things as if it's a foregone conclusion that he's guilty.
I know this is America and this is Texas, but still, this kind of weighted guilt bias would result in an inquest in many other countries.
A rape allegation on FB (as common as mud) and a few bad songs on YT is sadly not enough for me to deem him a monster.
I hope they have a great case, but I really don't like how the sheriff is bending public opinion before a trial. Seems like he's seasoning.
 
I just heard a reporter on NBC News ask her mother what Christmas was going to be like without her! I almost lost my dinner. What kind of sicko asks a question like that, anyway?

And he was there to deliver one of her gifts, no less, although I realize that's something nobody but whoever ordered it could have known at the time.
 
ChitBrick said:
PER FOX 4 NEWS::
WISE COUNTY, Texas - The disturbing details of 7-year-old Athena Strand's death came to light Thursday in a newly filed arrest affidavit for contracted FedEx delivery driver Tanner Horner.

In a confession to investigators, Horner reportedly said he had finished delivering a package at Strand's home in Paradise. He said he was backing up his FedEx truck, when he accidentally hit Athena with the truck.

Horner told investigators that Athena was alive, but was not seriously hurt at the time. He said she was talking to him, even telling him her name.

The delivery driver said he panicked and put her into the van, according to court documents.

Horner then attempted to break the 7-year-old's neck to kill her. When that didn't work, he strangled the girl in the back of the FedEx van.

The delivery driver said he strangled the girl because he was afraid she was going to tell her father that he hit her with the van.

Authorities say Horner then directed investigators to CR 4668 in Boyd, where he dumped her body.

The official cause of death for Athena has not been released at this time.
Click to expand...
What the what? Nope, uh uh not buying it. First he tried to break Athena's neck? There's something way too personal IMO. After trying to break her neck he strangled her. Again, up close and personal.

Who in the world runs over a kid then decides to murder them in order to avoid trouble? IMO only a psycho.
 
kikukohime said:
TBH, I'm not sold that he actually intended to kidnap her. The swiftness of her death from leaving the home is kind of strange. It's exceptionally quick.
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Respectfully snipped by me....

I don't find the timing of her murder to be exceptionally quick or strange.

Studies of child abduction murders have found that over 30% of victims are killed within 30 minutes of abduction. Almost half are dead by the time 1 hour has elapsed. By the five hour mark, over 80% are dead.

It's a fact of investigative case management that a lot of kids who are abducted by strangers are already murdered before they are even reported missing.

You can read one of the benchmark studies here (you can download the whole report, info about time from abduction to murder starts around page 62): Child Abduction Murder Research | Washington State
 
I agree with everyone here who've said that he's leaving details out. He's telling some things but engaging in minimizing, IMO very common behavior among suspects.

He may have hit her with his truck but that part was probably not an accident. The autopsy may not show evidence of a completed sexual assault but that does not mean it wasn't his intention to do so.

I also find it significant that he apparently placed her body in water. He could have dumped her out anywhere but he chose a place where he might have hoped evidence would be washed away or destroyed.

All MOO.
 
Last edited:
Yemelyan said:
I agree with everyone here who've said that he's leaving details out. He's telling some things but engaging in minimizing, IMO very common behavior among suspects.

He may have hit her with his truck but that part was probably not an accident. The autopsy may not show evidence of a completed sexual assault but that does not mean it wasn't his intention to do so.

I also find it significant that he apparently placed her body in water. He could have dumped her out anywhere but he chose a place where he might have hoped evidence would be washed away or destroyed.

All MOO.
Click to expand...
The hit her with the truck story may be to coverup her injuries that were from him assaulting her.
 
kikukohime said:
Running over a mailbox in the course of carrying out work, isn't really the same as murdering a child.
If the mother goes the route of suing, she'd probably get an out of court settlement just to shut up the jabbering on social media, rather than out of any kind of legit guilt. Which is a net negative for society, honestly.
Unless, he ran her over and then took her to dispose of her....


TBH, I'm not sold that he actually intended to kidnap her. The swiftness of her death from leaving the home is kind of strange. It's exceptionally quick.
I also don't like the speed in which the sheriff has announced things as if it's a foregone conclusion that he's guilty.
I know this is America and this is Texas, but still, this kind of weighted guilt bias would result in an inquest in many other countries.
A rape allegation on FB (as common as mud) and a few bad songs on YT is sadly not enough for me to deem him a monster.
I hope they have a great case, but I really don't like how the sheriff is bending public opinion before a trial. Seems like he's seasoning.
Click to expand...
They also have his confession and he led them to her body.
 
Tbone144 said:
Wow..part of me was hoping he hit her with the truck and panicked and disposed of her body. Killing her with his own hands to keep her from telling her dad? I don’t even know what to say about that..I guess autopsy results will be telling.
Click to expand...
I don’t believe his version of what allegedly happened to Athena. Most people who accidentally hit a child with a van and they were not badly injured or even if they were badly injured would be so worried about the child’s injuries and dial 911. Most drivers first instinct would not be to panic and start choking and strangle the poor child they had just hit and drive a few miles to discard the child’s remains. If it was a genuine accident and he immediately dialled 911, he went and got the child’s parent from the house to let them know there had been an accident and he was apologising profusely then the consequences would be far less than what he is facing now, with Prosecutors charging him with murder and him facing the death penalty.

Unfortunately and very tragically it is possible that the autopsy will reveal his real motive for allegedly killing Athena and the results will disprove his version of what he alleges happened. I really hope he did not commit SA but unfortunately he may have allegedly done so. He may be hoping that somehow he can claim he had accident with his van and panicked which is preferable to people including his family and people in the prison, finding out that he is allegedly is an offender who committed SA and intentionally murdered a young girl afterwards. I’m sure a prisoner who is accused of committing evil and despicable crimes against a young child would be concerned for their safety in prison and worried about being attacked and killed.
kikukohime said:
Running over a mailbox in the course of carrying out work, isn't really the same as murdering a child.
If the mother goes the route of suing, she'd probably get an out of court settlement just to shut up the jabbering on social media, rather than out of any kind of legit guilt. Which is a net negative for society, honestly.
Unless, he ran her over and then took her to dispose of her....


TBH, I'm not sold that he actually intended to kidnap her. The swiftness of her death from leaving the home is kind of strange. It's exceptionally quick.
I also don't like the speed in which the sheriff has announced things as if it's a foregone conclusion that he's guilty.
I know this is America and this is Texas, but still, this kind of weighted guilt bias would result in an inquest in many other countries.
A rape allegation on FB (as common as mud) and a few bad songs on YT is sadly not enough for me to deem him a monster.
I hope they have a great case, but I really don't like how the sheriff is bending public opinion before a trial. Seems like he's seasoning.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately statistically most children who are kidnapped, SA and murdered by child predator do not survive for longer than a few hours after they have been kidnapped. This is why it is critical to find missing children who have been kidnapped ASAP and tragically every minute that they are missing makes it more likely they will not survive. If he is a child offender he may have wanted to do what he may have allegedly done for some time but he may never have had the opportunity to kidnap and harm a child before without adults around supervising them who could also act as witnesses to the kidnapping. Unfortunately the temptation to allegedly kidnap Athena may have been too great for him and in a split second he decided to go ahead on this occasion and do what he has allegedly done.

You’re right that he should be presumed innocent until found guilty. Personally I believe the evidence which may indicate he is the individual who murdered Athena is very strong as he appears to be only possible perpetrator who was at the property to deliver anything to her home during the time frame she went missing. And the fact he allegedly provided law enforcement with information on where Athena’s remains were located is difficult to explain if you are innocent of any wrongdoing. I really hope he does get a fair trial so that if he is found guilty and convicted of doing what he has allegedly done to Athena his conviction cannot be challenged and overturned if he ends up on death row.
 
ElizB said:
They also have his confession and he led them to her body.
Click to expand...
They also have video of him talking to little Athena inside the Fedex truck.

I wonder if he knew there was a camera inside the truck.

ETA Link

www.nbcdfw.com

FedEx Driver Says He Hit Athena Strand With His Truck, Panicked and Strangled Her After She Said She Was Going to Tell Her Dad: Affidavit

The FedEx driver accused of kidnapping and killing a 7-year-old girl says he strangled her after he accidentally backed into her with his truck.
www.nbcdfw.com www.nbcdfw.com

Investigators confirmed which van made the delivery and learned that it was equipped with video cameras recorded by a third-party vendor, Velocitor. That company provided investigators with the video that showed a driver taking a girl who looked like Athena into his van. The driver was also seen talking with the girl inside the van.
 
Yemelyan said:
I agree with everyone here who've said that he's leaving details out. He's telling some things but engaging in minimizing, IMO very common behavior among suspects.

He may have hit her with his truck but that part was probably not an accident. The autopsy may not show evidence of a completed sexual assault but that does not mean it wasn't his intention to do so.

I also find it significant that he apparently placed her body in water. He could have dumped her out anywhere but he chose a place where he might have hoped evidence would be washed away or destroyed.

All MOO.
Click to expand...
Has no sexual assault even been revealed yet? I doubt it. They will sit on whether that occurred or not, for awhile. TH is a murderer and a liar.
 
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