After hitting a young girl in Texas who was just seven years old with his work van, a FedEx driver reportedly went into a panic and threw her inside his truck, where she was later found dead.
According to an affidavit for an arrest warrant that was released on Thursday, Tanner Lynn Horner, 31, who is charged with capital murder and aggravated kidnapping, told authorities that he placed Athena Strand in his work truck after he struck her with it. Horner is charged with both crimes.
When Horner allegedly accidentally backed the truck into the toddler, he claimed to the investigators that the child did not sustain any major injuries. According to the affidavit, Horner also told the investigators that he had spoken to the girl in his van, where she disclosed her identity to him. According to the affidavit, he killed her after experiencing “panic” and because “she was going to tell her father about being hit by the FedEx truck the Defendant was operating,” which was the reason he killed her.
Kaitlyn Gandy, Athena’s mother, was quoted by multiple news outlets on Thursday as saying that “You Can Be Anything” Barbie dolls were being delivered to her daughter shortly before she was killed. “Athena was robbed of the opportunity to grow up to be anything she wanted to be,” Gandy said, while at times breaking down and crying.
After Christmas break, I was planning to bring Athena back to Oklahoma with me. However, I have decided to have Athena cremated instead, and her ashes will be brought back to Oklahoma in an urn since I am not even close to being ready to say goodbye to my baby.
According to the affidavit, Athena’s stepmother called 911 on November 30 at approximately 6:41 p.m. to report that the girl had gone missing from their residence in Paradise, which is located in Wise County. According to the affidavit, the kid was reported missing a little less than an hour after her stepmother had seen her in her temporary bedroom, which was a converted storage shed that she shared with her stepsister.
According to the affidavit, investigators discovered that FedEx had delivered a package at the same time that she went missing. It was determined by the investigators, with the assistance of a contracting business that delivers items for FedEx, whose vehicle and driver were responsible for making the delivery.
According to the affidavit, the investigators discovered that the FedEx truck was fitted with cameras that were capable of recording one-minute footage. According to the document, an FBI employee reviewed video evidence and “discovered the driver had taken a little girl who was visibly similar to Athena in his van. The driver was seen on film chatting to her in the van,” which was stated in the affidavit.
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Investigators were able to establish that Horner was the person behind the wheel. After allegedly admitting to detectives that he was responsible for the girl’s death, Horner allegedly provided them with the location of her body. According to the affidavit, members of law enforcement discovered the deceased youngster in a body of water.
Horner was arrested on Friday, two days after the girl went missing, which caused a huge search to be conducted by over 200 community members who volunteered their time. Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin told reporters on Saturday that authorities discovered her dead on Friday, southeast of the city of Boyd, which is located approximately 11 miles away. Akin stated this during a news conference on Friday night, saying, “We do have a confession.”
The amount of the bond for Horner was determined to be $1.5 million. On the evening of Thursday, it was not immediately obvious whether or not Horner had an attorney. FedEx has issued a statement in which it expresses its condolences to the relatives of the victim and affirms that it is working closely with the appropriate authorities.
“Words cannot describe our shock and sorrow at the reports surrounding this tragic event,” FedEx said.
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