A Tarrant County jury will convene Tuesday for the capital murder trial of Tanner Horner, a FedEx driver charged in the 2022 death of 7-year-old Athena Strand.
Conviction could bring the death penalty. Horner faces charges of aggravated kidnapping and capital murder of a person under 10. Wise County District Attorney James Stainton plans to seek it. Horner pleaded not guilty in 2023.
Prosecutors say Horner struck Athena with his truck while backing out of her driveway during a Christmas package delivery, then strangled her after panicking, according to an arrest affidavit.
Horner told investigators the girl suffered no serious injury from the impact. Fearing she would tell her father, he put her in his van. Truck video captured him speaking with Athena, who gave her name, the affidavit states.
A grand jury indicted Horner on February 16, 2023.
Legal analyst and former U.S. Attorney Paul Coggins said the admissibility of evidence, especially a confession, could decide the outcome.
“The nature of the victim, that’s brought this case a huge amount of attention, the young age of the victim, the vulnerability of the victim,” Coggins said, CBS News Texas reported.
“If that confession comes in… the guilt and innocence phase of the trial will be pretty cut and dry,” Coggins said.
Horner’s defense team plans to emphasize his autism during sentencing to argue against execution.
“Then you will get into where the defense is really focusing its efforts, and that’s for the sentencing phase … arguing that because of his autism, he falls within that line of cases where they cannot be executed,” Coggins said.
Jury selection looms large.
“They say the case is won or lost at jury selection, and I think the jury selection part of this is going to be huge,” Coggins said.