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A FedEx driver named Tanner Horner has been handed a death sentence for the murder of Athena Strand. As the verdict has been delivered, what are the next steps?
Oxygen explores the future for Horner, who confessed to the crime in a Fort Worth, Texas courtroom in April 2026, as reported by NBC News.
The 34-year-old was sentenced after admitting to charges of capital murder and aggravated kidnapping, stemming from the tragic events of 2022. His unexpected plea came just as his trial was about to commence in Texas.
Horner was sentenced to death on May 5 after just three hours of deliberation, as seen in footage from the court room. He had no visible reaction to the sentence.
What happens with Tanner Horner now?
Horner will now be housed at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit, a notorious prison situated near Houston, Texas, according to the New York Post. Inmates on death row in this facility endure solitary confinement, spending a minimum of 22 hours daily in their 60-square-foot cells.
He will remain there until his execution by lethal injection. However, due to the appeals process in Texas, it may be several years before the sentence is carried out. This process is automatically initiated for anyone condemned to capital punishment in the state, as outlined in a guide by the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
There will be “often more than one execution date” set in a case, per the handbook. Only once appeals are exhausted and the convicted inmate “has exercised all rights to appeal with no relief and any requested clemency is denied,” the execution will take place.
Horner’s surviving family members have “the right to request to view the execution,” according to the handbook.
Athena Strand’s family speaks out
Following the verdict, Strand’s uncle Elijah Strand directly addressed Horner in a statement read in the courtroom.
“You did not just take a life, you destroyed a family,” he said, per WFAA. “You took a girl who trusted the world and repaid that innocence with violence. You chose to cause pain that will last generations. You say you found god but what you did to Athena stands in direct opposition to everything that you now claim to believe.”
“I want you to know that you are nothing,” he continued. “You are a footnote in Athena’s story. Her name will forever be remembered. Her name will forever be celebrated. And everyone will forget you. You wanted your fifteen minutes of fame, you got it, and no one’s gonna remember you after this.”