A former FedEx driver pleaded guilty to kidnapping and killing a 7-year-old girl after delivering what would have been her Christmas gift, but the prosecution and defense told conflicting stories about what led to the tragic killing.
Tanner Lynn Horner pleaded guilty to the 2022 murder of Athena Strand at the start of his trial and was sentenced to death on May 5. Prosecuting attorney James Stainton said Horner planned to abduct, sexually assault and kill Athena then tried to hide his crimes by covering the camera in his FedEx truck and repeatedly lying to police.
"That's not the look of someone who doesn't have a plan, who doesn't have motivation, that hasn't thought this out, that hasn't fantasized about this," Stainton said May 5. "That's the look of a predator right there."
Meanwhile, Horner's defense attorney argued that Horner killed Athena because she caught him using cocaine in his truck and the situation "snowballed" from there. Susan Anderson told jurors in her closing argument that Horner's fetal alcohol syndrome, lead exposure and autism diagnoses don't justify the killing, but partially explain what led to it.
"And it's natural for us to want to know why this happened. But you know what? We won't ever know why it happened," Anderson told jurors in her closing argument.
