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Guilty Plea, Death Sentence
Tanner Horner pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping in the killing of 7-year-old Athena Strand, and the case moved into a sentencing phase after Judge George Gallagher ordered a brief five-minute recess. CBS News reported Horner was accused of killing Strand in Wise County on Nov. 30, 2022, after investigators said he went to the girl’s home while working as a FedEx delivery driver and later strangled her out of fear she would tell her father. The Associated Press said Horner, 34, pleaded guilty to capital murder just as his trial began, and jurors in a Fort Worth courtroom decided his punishment after hearing about a month of testimony and evidence that included audio of Athena’s last moments from inside his delivery van. On Tuesday, May 5, People reported Horner was sentenced to death after jurors deliberated for just about 3 hours, and the decision came after his April 7 plea to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping.
“Horner, in the end, pleaded guilty to two counts: capital murder and aggravated kidnapping”
Closing Arguments and Family
In closing arguments, Wise County District Attorney James Stainton told jurors that criminals like Horner are the reason Texas still has the death penalty, and People quoted him calling Horner “a lethal predator.” People also reported defense attorney Susan Anderson told jurors, “You hold a man’s life in your hands and your decision will define who you are,” and asked them to vote for life. After the death sentence was read, People said Athena’s uncle Elijah Strand gave emotional testimony directed at Horner, including the statement, “You did not just take a life, you destroyed a family.” NBC News similarly quoted Elijah Strand in court, saying, “It was the best thing to see her running up to me with her arms open, yelling ‘Uncle Elijah,’ and it’s one of my last memories I have of her,” as Horner showed no outward emotion when the judge read the sentence.
Execution Timing and Appeal
NBC News reported that state District Judge George Gallagher sentenced Horner to be executed before sunrise at a date to be determined in Huntsville, and it added that Texas uses lethal injection to carry out executions. The same article said Horner pleaded guilty last month to capital murder of a person under the age of 10 and aggravated kidnapping, and the jury had a choice of sentencing him to death or life in prison without parole. NBC News also stated that the panel found two special issues that allow the death penalty, including a probability Horner would commit acts of violence posing a “continuing threat to society.” NBC News further reported that an appeal was automatically filed and that a lawyer will be appointed in that appeal, while CBS News described the trial’s move from rural Wise County to Fort Worth after Horner’s defense argued he would not have received a fair trial.
“Horner stood but showed no outward emotion as state District Judge George Gallagher sentenced him to be executed before sunrise at a date to be determined in Huntsville”
