Tanner Horner Reveals Why He Killed Athena Strand

The FedEx driver accused of killing Athena Strand last week allegedly told authorities that he strangled the 7-year-old North Texas girl, court documents reveal.

Tanner Lynn Horner, 31, allegedly confessed to accidentally hitting Athena with his van while on his delivery route, per a newly published arrest warrant affidavit. He claimed that she'd been struck while he was backing up his delivery truck, but that she hadn't sustained serious injuries.

Still, Horner claimed that he "panicked" after the collision and took the young girl into his vehicle. She then supposedly talked with Horner and she told him her first name.

"The Defendant stated he attempted to break Athena's neck to kill her," court documents show. "The Defendant stated, when he attempted to break Athena's neck it did not work so he strangled [her] with his bare hands in the back of the Fed Ex van."

The affidavit further states that Horner claimed during an interview with law enforcement that he'd strangled the girl "because she was going to tell her father about being hit by the Fed Ex truck the Defendant was operating."

Authorities believe that Athena died within an hour of coming into contact with Horner.

Newsweek previously reported that a large search ensued after Athena disappeared from the driveway of her Paradise, Texas, home on the evening of Wednesday, November 30. Two days later, her body was found roughly six miles away.

Horner admitted to killing the 7-year-old shortly after he drove to her residence to make a delivery. He was arrested last Friday and guided officials to the location of the girl's body, which was discovered "in the water," according to the affidavit.

The driver has been charged with capital murder of a person under 10 and aggravated kidnapping, and he is currently behind bars with a bond of $1.5 million.

Athena's mother recently revealed the delivery that had been made on the day of her daughter's death, per NBC-DFW.

"It was a Christmas present for the 7-year-old," the local news outlet reported, "a box of 'You Can Be Anything' Barbie dolls that her mother said she'll never get to open."

Horner's past has come under scrutiny in the days since Athena's killing. At least one woman has taken to social media to accuse him of sexual assault.

"Friendly reminder that Tanner Horner is a rapist," the person alleged in a post from November 2019. After news of his arrest broke, the same woman claimed in another post that he raped her some eight years ago when he was around 23 and she was 16.

Newsweek reached out to the Wise County Sheriff's Office for additional comment.