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

[Niner]

Interesting...I also searched by name

Hmmm.... wonder what IS happening??
And thanks for checking.

 

[Niner]

@roche.analisa - thought I would check in & see if there might be a next hearing date yet? TIA!

I do have jury selection on 1/29/26 with final jury selection on 4/1/26 & trial beginning on 4/7/26.

 

[Unalienable Rights]

3 years later: FedEx driver awaiting trial in murder of 7-year-old Athena Strand

November 30 marks 3 years since 7-year-old Athena Strand disappeared from her home in Paradise, Texas.

www.cbsnews.com

November 30 marks 3 years since 7-year-old Athena Strand disappeared from her home in Paradise, Texas.

The 7-year-old was abducted from her Wise County driveway and allegedly killed by a FedEx driver. That suspect, Tanner Horner, faces capital murder and kidnapping charges, but he is not expected to stand trial until next spring at the earliest, due to venue changes and other delays.

*****
Horner was indicted on Feb. 16, 2023, for aggravated kidnapping and capital murder of a person under the age of 10. Wise County District Attorney James Stainton said he intends to seek the death penalty.

*****
Horner pleaded not guilty to aggravated kidnapping and capital murder in 2023.

After delays and a change of venue, jury selection for Horner's trial is scheduled to begin on April 1, 2026. The trial is scheduled for April 7, 2026.

 

[Niner]

3 years later: FedEx driver awaiting trial in murder of 7-year-old Athena Strand

November 30 marks 3 years since 7-year-old Athena Strand disappeared from her home in Paradise, Texas.

www.cbsnews.com

November 30 marks 3 years since 7-year-old Athena Strand disappeared from her home in Paradise, Texas.

The 7-year-old was abducted from her Wise County driveway and allegedly killed by a FedEx driver. That suspect, Tanner Horner, faces capital murder and kidnapping charges, but he is not expected to stand trial until next spring at the earliest, due to venue changes and other delays.

*****
Horner was indicted on Feb. 16, 2023, for aggravated kidnapping and capital murder of a person under the age of 10. Wise County District Attorney James Stainton said he intends to seek the death penalty.

*****
Horner pleaded not guilty to aggravated kidnapping and capital murder in 2023.

After delays and a change of venue, jury selection for Horner's trial is scheduled to begin on April 1, 2026. The trial is scheduled for April 7, 2026.

Thanks for that article. Too bad they don't mention his next court date.... last one I have was in April, 2025.

 

[roche.analisa]

@roche.analisa - thought I would check in & see if there might be a next hearing date yet? TIA!

I do have jury selection on 1/29/26 with final jury selection on 4/1/26 & trial beginning on 4/7/26.

Only shows 4/1 on all 4 charges

 

[Niner]

Only shows 4/1 on all 4 charges

Thanks for checking! Will be back - oh say another month...

 

[Niner]

Just got an alert for this case!

Procedural hearing set in capital murder case against Athena Strand suspect

The capital murder case against Tanner Horner, accused of the 2022 kidnapping and strangulation of 7-year-old Athena Strand, is heading to a procedural pretrial hearing on Monday as the trial approaches its scheduled 2026 start date.

www.fox4news.com

Dec. 7, 2025
WISE COUNTY, Texas - After three years with little movement, the capital murder case against Tanner Horner is scheduled for court on Monday [12/8/25]for a pretrial hearing. Horner is accused of kidnapping 7-year-old Athena Strand from outside her Paradise home and strangling her in November 2022.
[.....]

Focus of Monday's hearing​

Dig deeper:
Monday’s pretrial hearing is expected to focus primarily on procedural matters, including evidentiary objections.
[.....]

Trial Date Set​

What's next:
No witnesses, crime scene details, or opening statements are expected during Monday’s hearing, which will be strictly procedural.
The trial is scheduled to begin in April 2026.

 

[Niner]

Monday, Dec. 8th:
*Pretrial Conference Hearing (Athena's Case) – (@ am CT) - TX - Athena Presley Monroe Strand (7) – (last seen near the 200 block of County 3573 on Nov. 30, 2022 in Paradise. Reported missing by mom @ 6:40pm on 11/30/22; found deceased along the water’s edge of the Trinity River southeast of Boyd on the evening of Dec. 2, 2022 about 9 miles from her home). *Tanner Lynn Horner (31/now 34) arrested (12/3/22), indicted (2/16/23), charged & arraigned (3/6/23) with capital murder (under the age of 10) & 1st degree felon aggravated kidnapping. Bond $1M (murder) $500K (kidnapping). Surety Bond total $1,545,000. Plead not guilty (3/6/23). DA will seek DP (2/18/23). Wise County/Now in 297th District Court-Tarrant County
TX - *Tanner Lynn Horner (31/now 34) charged (12/21/22) with 3 counts of sexual assault (from 2013) in Fort Worth. Bond @ $45K. Surety Bond Total $135K. Tarrant County
Admitted kidnapping & killing Athena.
Jury Selection set to begin on 1/29/26. Final jury selection on 4/1/26.
Trial set to begin on 4/7/26.
Trial was moved from Wise County to Tarrant County [3/16/24].
Judge George Gallagher presiding. West County DA James Stainton. Defense: Public defenders Bill Ray & Steven Gordon. For Aggravated kidnapping attorney Pamela Fernandez.
Case & court info from 11/30/22 thru 12/21/22 [Tarrant County] & thru 1/21/25 [murder] reference post #429 here:
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...actor-tanner-horner-paradise-2.649712/page-22
2/3/25 Monday, Jury selection: A new judge in Tarrant County will oversee the capital murder trial of Tanner Horner. Judge George Gallagher has been appointed to preside over the case moving forward. No trial date has been set. The move came following the retirement of 297th District Judge David Hagerman on Friday, 1/31/25, the source confirmed. Hagerman’s court had been assigned the case last fall after Horner’s attorneys with the Regional Public Defenders Office (RPDO) successfully argued for a change of venue out of Wise County due to “inflammatory pre-trial publicity” that would prevent a fair trial. 271st District Judge Brock Smith granted the motion, agreeing to move the trial from Decatur to Tarrant County. Next pretrial hearing on 3/4/25 @ 12pm.
3/4/25 Update: Horner’s new defense attorneys—who took over in the summer of 2023—argued they needed more time. They requested that the trial be pushed to October 2026, but Judge George Gallagher denied the request on Tuesday, saying they have enough time to prepare. Instead, he set the trial date for 4/1/26 with jury selection. In court, Judge Gallagher also approved a request from prosecutors to transfer DNA evidence from a lab in Houston—where there’s a backlog—to Tarrant County to speed up testing.
12/7/25 Update: A pretrial hearing is set on 12/8/25.

 

[mickey2942]

I wonder if the father and step mother are still together?

 

[Niner]

You can find a transcript of the hearing on this

Hit "More" & it will show where to click on "Transcript" at the bottom.

Bascially - defense attorney Susan Anderson wants his confession suppressed [thrown out] because of his Miranda Rights violation. DA says he has 6hours of this interview. Judge will listen or read transcript of interview & issue his ruling later. They also haggled about the questionnaire for the jurors. Jury selection to start end of January, trial to begin in April.

and of course - no dates for more hearings.

But it does have:
The man accused of kidnapping and murdering 7-year-old Athena Strand in Wise County will stand trial in April. But over the next two weeks, there will be pretrial hearings related to the case.

So @PommyMommy - I will be bothering you for hearing dates soon!

 

[Niner]

Found another one that said his hearing continues today... so...

Tuesday, Dec. 9th:
*Pretrial Conference Hearing (Athena’s Case) – (@ am CT) - TX - Athena Presley Monroe Strand (7) – (last seen near the 200 block of County 3573 on Nov. 30, 2022 in Paradise. Reported missing by mom @ 6:40pm on 11/30/22; found deceased along the water’s edge of the Trinity River southeast of Boyd on the evening of Dec. 2, 2022 about 9 miles from her home). *Tanner Lynn Horner (31/now 34) arrested (12/3/22), indicted (2/16/23), charged & arraigned (3/6/23) with capital murder (under the age of 10) & 1st degree felon aggravated kidnapping. Bond $1M (murder) $500K (kidnapping). Surety Bond total $1,545,000. Plead not guilty (3/6/23). DA will seek DP (2/18/23). Wise County/Now in 297th District Court-Tarrant County
TX - *Tanner Lynn Horner (31/now 34) charged (12/21/22) with 3 counts of sexual assault (from 2013) in Fort Worth. Bond @ $45K. Surety Bond Total $135K. Tarrant County
Admitted kidnapping & killing Athena.
Jury Selection set to begin on 1/29/26. Final jury selection on 4/1/26.
Trial set to begin on 4/7/26.
Trial was moved from Wise County to Tarrant County [3/16/24].
Judge George Gallagher presiding. West County DA James Stainton. Defense: Public defenders Susan Anderson, Bill Ray & Steven Gordon. For Aggravated kidnapping attorney Pamela Fernandez.
Case & court info from 11/30/22 thru 12/21/22 [Tarrant County] & thru 3/4/25 [murder] reference post #488 here:
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...actor-tanner-horner-paradise-2.649712/page-25
12/7/25 Update: A pretrial hearing is set on 12/8/25.
12/8/25 Update: Defense attorney Susan Anderson filed motion to suppress Horner’s confession for Miranda Rights violation. DA has 6 hours of interviews of Horner. Judge George Gallagher will listen/read transcript & issue his ruling later. DA has whittled down his witness list from 100 to 60. They haggled over the juror questionnaire. Pretrial conference hearing continues on 12/9/25.

 

[Niner]

Athena Strand Murder: Judge denies defense motion to delay trial

A judge has denied a request to delay the trial of a former FedEx driver who is accused of kidnapping and killing a 7-year-old girl in Wise County.

www.fox4news.com

Dec. 8, 2025
WISE COUNTY, Texas - A judge has denied a request to delay the trial of a former FedEx driver who is accused of kidnapping and killing a 7-year-old girl in Wise County.

This article is from Monday's hearing.

 

[Niner]

Defense wants Athena Strand murder suspect's police interviews thrown out

Tanner Horner’s defense team is also still waiting for the judge to rule on whether all or part of his jailhouse interviews will be allowed as evidence because of a possible violation of his Miranda Rights.

www.fox4news.com

Dec. 9, 2025

FORT WORTH, Texas - A trial date has been set for the former FedEx driver accused of kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Athena Strand in Wise County.

Tanner Horner’s defense team is also still waiting for the judge to rule on whether all or part of his jailhouse interviews will be allowed as evidence because of a possible violation of his Miranda Rights.
[.....]
During continued pretrial hearings on Tuesday, prosecutors called several witnesses to the stand in an effort to have them qualified as experts. They specialize in fields such as cellular data and digital forensics.

Judge George Gallagher is also still listening to six hours of police interviews to rule on a defense request to suppress all or part of those interviews.



There are a lot of utube videos that say this is a 2-week pretrial hearing.
Anything in the court site ? @PommyMommy - TIA!