FedEx driver sentenced to death by lethal injection for murder of seven-year-old in Texas

A FedEx driver who kidnapped and murdered 7-year-old Athena Strand in Texas has been sentenced to death by lethal injection [citation:1][citation:6]. Tanner Horner, 34, pleaded guilty to capital murder on April 7, 2026, after delivering a box of Barbie dolls to the girl's home in Paradise, Texas, on November 30, 2022 [citation:2][citation:5]. Prosecutors presented chilling evidence, including an hour-long audio recording from inside Horner's van capturing the girl's final moments—her screams and her question, "Are you a kidnapper?" [citation:4][citation:8]. The jury deliberated only three hours before deciding on death, rejecting the defense's arguments about his troubled upbringing, autism, and fetal alcohol syndrome [citation:6][citation:11]. Athena's uncle addressed the killer directly, telling him he would be forgotten: "You are a footnote in Athena's story" [citation:1].