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

[TMich6811]

My guess, the Defense doesn't want to touch his high school and young adult years.
I suspect they want to bury years of drug use, which likely has way more to do with the way he is. You know, the way he gets. But that won't spare the DP.

So instead, we have TH, the infant coin machine, who faced the corner and played myself, as recalled by an 11 babysitter-expert, who only tested off the charts for heavy bone lead, with a device which isn't approved for human use, at lethal levels.

Apparently it was only lethal for Athena.

JMO

This. He was doing this as a teen. Let’s not talk about it

 

[TMich6811]

IMO trauma doesn’t matter here, he’s a grown up with decision making skills.

But I expected actual trauma and issues to be discussed. This is nothing more than describing the childhood of 75% of the world

 

[gucci2times]

If the defense was seriously putting forward an affirmative defense regarding a disability, he could have requested school records, medical records, CPS records, there had to be some sort of actual documentation of a disabling condition, no matter how screwed up the family is, because they always apply for public assistance, even if the kids never go to school. And there are additional waivers/stipends if the child has a disability.

Believe me, no matter how messed up the family is, when it comes to additional benefits, they are on it.

That’s my line of thinking too. I would need to see all that to even humor sparing him.

Even vocational support programs as a young adult funded through Medicaid would have extensive records attached to billing codes.

I believe mom said Tanner received SSDI so there would be an assessment connected to that as well.

 

[Megnut]

That’s my line of thinking too. I would need to see all that to even humor sparing him.

Even vocational support programs as a young adult funded through Medicaid would have extensive records attached to billing codes.

I believe mom said Tanner received SSDI so there would be an assessment connected to that as well.

But the Defense didn't get into that. I wonder if she didn't receive a rating for a time as disabled, and in that process, collected additional SSDI for TH, as a dependent. That is a real thing and doesn't indicate or require that TH had any disability.

JMO

 

[CuriousOyster]

I wonder if the defense are doing a deliberately poor job just because they have to do something. They aren’t really providing any defense for what he’s done, are they?!

 

[gucci2times]

Off topic but wanted to share…
(Some details changed)

Many years ago I did a court riskassessment on a young man (diagnosed PTSD, ADHD and Autism) who was arrested at age 18 for molesting a 9 year old girl whom he was asked to babysit by a family friend.

During this assessment, I learned that his mother attempted suicide while pregnant with him by poisoning herself. He had to be immediately removed from her womb 7 weeks early and receive a full blood transfusion. He grew up in rural poverty with his depressed mother, a couple siblings and a stepfather. The stepfather sexually abused all the children and would force them to watch violent pornography. He would punish the children by making them kneel on rice for hours until their knees bled. He strangled several family cats to death in front of my client and eventually shot himself in the face with a shotgun in the home. After, my client ended up living in a car with his mom until he found her unconscious following a suicide attempt. He was then sent to live with his father and uncle for the remainder of his adolescence up until his arrest. As a teen, he struggled greatly socially and expressed interest in sex and dating but did not have the age appropriate skills to connect with female peers. His father and uncle were later arrested for uploading child pornography. Not all of this was self-reported during the assessment but there was documentation of all of it.

I share this because while mental health history doesn’t excuse behavior (rare exceptions) it can begin to explain behavior when viewed in the proper context. Did we really expect this individual to grow up “normal?”

The dots are not being connected for me here. I think it’s very human to fill in the gaps the defense is leaving wide open with “he’s just an evil person” (which is where I’m at right now tbh unless they give me more to mull over).

Sorry for the essay but ya’ll are great critical thinkers and I figured you’d find it interesting.

 

[Megnut]

I wonder if the defense are doing a deliberately poor job just because they have to do something. They aren’t really providing any defense for what he’s done, are they?!

It tells me they have nothing substantive to work with. They are doing their jobs, as well as they can, given there are no real mitigating factors.

Using a witness who knew TH when he was 0-18 months and was 11 years old at the oldest to create some kind of suggestion he maybe had ASD is the best they can do. Same with using her to introduce his coin consumption to bolster their weak heavy metal expert is the best they can do.

If they could show that he had serious mental defects on the level that it would be unconstitutional to apply the constitutional death penalty to him as a member of a protected class (to which none of his asserted diagnoses even arise in the first place!), they would.

JMO

 

[BUF]

Watching WFAA, I think next witness is via zoom and will be blurred. His brother is supposed to testify next week, he is in prison.

Think I heard that right….

 

[tlcya]

oh goody, more blurry face peeps, this one remotely. Can somebody wake me when defense rests?



This witness will give more background testimony about TH. He lived in TX for about 25 years, up until about 2004. He is a licensed professional therapist. He worked at First Choice. It was a counseling place used by people with drug and or mental health issues. Worked there in 1999.

He was a therapist with children and parents.

 

[scottishgal]

As a parent, I honestly don't think that I could plead for the life of my son if he did a heinous crime like TH.

I feel like they werent put on the stand to 'plead for his life' at least not directly, but more like to in a circuitous way show that he had so much trauma in his life that perhaps we give him LOP instead of DP ....

I must say hearing the mum then the cousin, the aunt has reduced my rage against TH a bit , but that still leaves a massive amount

My son said ' I cant believe TH got his mum to trauma dump on the jury to soften them'

Why didn't Grandma Jackie testify yet?

 

[scottishgal]

oh goody, more blurry face peeps, this one remotely. Can somebody wake me when defense rests?



This witness will give more background testimony about TH. He lived in TX for about 25 years, up until about 2004. He is a licensed professional therapist. He worked at First Choice. It was a counseling place used by people with drug and or mental health issues. Worked there in 1999.

He was a therapist with children and parents.

Yes it is so visually difficult to watch the blurred images isn't it? They are so worried about their safety when a 7 year old has been killed by the person they came to testify in defense of.....

 

[Walela]

He sat in a corner, pooping (out pennies ). Like most/many toddlers do when potty training. Did they really go there? This is absolutely pathetic.

I will discount the recollections and analytical skills of this then 10 yr old babysitter.....no skill to prevent a toddler from eating coins. She was 10 for Pete sake....her analytical skills were basic...it's daytime because it's light out...duh. How reliable is a 40 year old recollection???
moo

 

[tlcya]

Witness is testifying generally about his work there and dealing with clients who had trauma, addiction issues, dual diagnosis, etc.

I have yet to hear the defense ask this witness if he ever treated TH at this facility or any of his family members. Why is this man here remotely? What is he going to tell us ABOUT TANNER HORNER that is relevant?

 

[Megnut]

What? This expert has no actual records?

What is he going to testify to?

More generalities, from what he can remember.

Lord.

 

[Megnut]

Why do these supposed expert witnesses ever say NO to testifying??????

Does anyone care what he barely remembers about a place where he has no records for whom he may have treated?

 

[tlcya]

I don't think this guy ever even treated TH or his mother or even one of his neighbors for that matter. WTF is this guy doing here? I cannot beleive this is being allowed. Judge just told defense "lets get there" when asked if this man ever treated TH.

 

[BUF]

Judge to defense: with Mr Horner?

Defense: we’re getting there

Judge: well then get there!

 

[Megnut]

Oh, but he does recall TH and his family.

Remembers them vaguely.

Later recognized the mother, didn't (couldn't) recognize TH, age 7 or 8.

Remembers them as typical.

There's your bombshell.

Fizzle.

 

[tlcya]

He recalls TH and his mother. FINALLY getting to it. He vaguely remembered them when defense first approached me. Then a picture was shown to me and suddenly I remembered. I knew TH at age 6, maybe 7 8

He found nothing unique about them. Just like every other client, having difficulty with drugs and their family was affected by it. I recognized her from her face.

 

[browneyes]

Is the jury present?