GUILTY TX - Athena Strand, 8, Abducted & Murdered by FedEx Contract Driver, Tanner Horner, Paradise, 30 November 2022 #2

[Megnut]

Yeah, I was agreeing with you.

I don't have FAS, but I do have a learning disability (undxed), autism, and a dissociative disorder (both dxed) and there are very few things that make me more steamed than violent sociopaths like TH or Letecia Stauch trying to fabricate a get out of jail free card from conditions that are already feared, ridiculed and marginalised in society, when the vast majority of people with them would never think to hurt anyone intentionally and would be horrified if they somehow did accidentally because of their condition.

MOO

And that attorneys who know better still perpetuate it.

 

[iamshadow21]

And that attorneys who know better still perpetuate it.

There is always a market for it. Attorneys who use it as an approach, and professionals who don't mind ruining their credibility to claim the defendant has the condition. Dorothy Otnow made a career of it for decades before they wheeled her out for Stauch.

It's a variation on the amnesia defence. And I'm sure many of the defendants think it up themselves when the physical evidence shows they are responsible. I don't think they understand just how rarely it's been successful in a courtroom.

MOO

 

[mickey2942]

The fact is, having FAS, autism, DID or imaginary friends doesn't make you a violent sexual offender who kidnaps children to murder them.

Many millions of people live with these conditions, or even have multiple diagnoses of all of them, and live blameless lives in society harming no one.

This is all on him for being a predator.

MOO

Very true. Most children/adults with PDD, pervasive developmental disabilities, don't actually commit crimes with any sort of premeditation. TH blows this, when he asks the girls at the previous house about "any adults present".

It is pretty obvious that TH was looking for an opportunity to find a little girl, with no adults around.

 

[Walela]

If, as @Megnut suggested earlier, defense plans to trot out experts to speak in generalities about autism/Asperger's, FAS, etc the prosecution should be able to make quick work of discrediting them by simply asking if they reviewed TH's childhood medical records and what within those records indicates he suffers these things. My guess is, these are excuses given him over the years by enablers around him as to why he simply cannot get it together and adult. JMO guess.

If we can believe this news article contains accurate reporting on yesterday's testimony, "all four said they had evaluated Horner and believed he had significant health and developmental issues long before Athena's death." They didn't say he had those issues for sure....just believed he did. So... bring in the records and show everyone or be quiet.

Also, from the same article "One doctor testified that Horner's lead levels as a child were 24 times higher than those of typical peer groups." I would like to know what is the level of his typical peer groups; why was he in more than one peer group; what therapy was given to reduce this extremely high lead level in his blood and how old was he when tested. How long was he exposed and what steps were taken to eliminate exposure? How was he exposed....water pipes in the home; water pipe feeding water to the home; drinking out of the backyard hose in the summer; peeling and eating lead paint off his crib or what? If I was on the jury I would want to have these questions answered before I believed 24 times higher meant anything. Someone would need to show me direct evidence that the lead level this doctor is talking about caused TH to become a hunter and killer of children.
moo

 

[shotgun09]

For myself, I call this nonsense perpetuated by the defense, the " Name it and Claim it" defense. Purely put on for a waste of time, and a deterrent for probable pending appeals as well. Again, the poor jury has to sit through this all.....even after Thursday's horrific audio/visual testimony. There is zero defense to mitigate what he did. IMO

 

[TMich6811]

IMO the argument would primarily result in impulse control and lack of decision making.

Those went out the window with the conversations he had, the camera was hidden, didn’t he go to the store to get cleaning supplies?, etc etc etc

 

[Megnut]

IMO the argument would primarily result in impulse control and lack of decision making.

Those went out the window with the conversations he had, the camera was hidden, didn’t he go to the store to get cleaning supplies?, etc etc etc

And when he asked for a month outside of jail to do Christmas with his family.

Just because he's ridiculous and outrageous doesn't diminish the fact that he's demonstrating executive function.

He took steps before and after his crime to cover it up. That should tell the jury everything they need to know.

JMO

 

[Morequestionsthananswers]

Hope his fiancée and son have disowned him.

 

[twall]

Today's updates-

Athena Strand trial to resume with defense – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth Athena Strand trial to resume with defense

Video-
Sentencing phase in Tanner Horner case to stretch longer as defense prepares to present experts - CBS Texas Sentencing phase in Tanner Horner case to stretch longer as defense prepares to present experts

 

[Niner]

Here's an article from what happened yesterday.

Expert testimony review extends Tanner Horner trial in killing of Athena Strand

The judge is determining which defense experts can testify as the jury prepares to return on Wednesday.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[Niner]

Wednesday, April 22nd:
*Trial continues/Penalty Phase (Day 9) (@ 9am 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 stepmom @ 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 on 3/16/24
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 began on 1/30/26 & ended on 2/11/26. Final jury selection began on 4/1/26 & ended. 12 jurors & 2 alternates.
Trial began on 4/7/26. Horner plead GUILTY. Punishment phase (sentencing) started on 4/7/26. State rested their case on 4/16/26.
Judge George Gallagher presiding. Wise County DA James Stainton. DA Allenna Banks. Defense: Public defenders Susan Anderson & Steven Goble. For Aggravated kidnapping defense attorney Pamela Fernandez.
Case & court info from 11/30/22 thru 12/21/22 [Tarrant County] & thru 1/21/26 [murder] & Jury Selection Day 1-4 (1/29-1/30, 2/11 & 4/1/26) & Trial/Sentencing Phase Day 1-8 (4/7-4/16/26) & thru 4/17/26 reference post #1667 here:
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...actor-tanner-horner-paradise-2.649712/page-84
4/20/26 Monday Update: The murder trial of Horner resumed Monday without a jury in the courtroom, as the case entered a key legal step focused on vetting the defense's expert witnesses. On Monday, the court moved into what's known as the voir dire phase for expert witnesses—a process where the judge & attorneys decide what testimony the jury will ultimately be allowed to hear. Four medical experts called by the defense testified Monday outside the presence of the jury. All four said they had evaluated Horner & believed he had significant underlying health & developmental issues long before Athena's death. The witnesses included: A psychologist, two physicians who focus on environmental toxin & a pediatrician. Prosecutors pushed back on the defense experts' conclusions, focusing not just on what they found but how they found it. Those challenges will help the judge decide how much of the experts' testimony, and which opinions, the jury will be allowed to hear when the trial resumes in full. The voir dire hearings are expected to continue on Tuesday, 4/21/26, with four more witnesses scheduled to appear. Full testimony in front of the jury is set to resume on Wednesday, 4/22/26. The judge also indicated that the defense's first witness, once the jury is back in the courtroom, is expected to be Horner's mother.
4/21/26 Tuesday Update: Voir dire of defense witnesses. Four additional expert witnesses testified Tuesday as part of the defense's effort to outline Horner's medical & mental‑health history. The judge must determine whether each expert's testimony is admissible before the jury can hear it. The witnesses included a psychologist, a university professor & specialists in neuroscience & prison behavior. The most critical testimony came from the psychologist – the only expert who personally evaluated Horner. She told the court that Horner meets the criteria for several conditions, including PTSD, autism spectrum disorder & major depressive disorder. Not all of the experts reviewed by the judge will necessarily testify before the jury. Trial continues on Wednesday, 4/22/26.