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A FedEx driver named Tanner Horner has reportedly confessed to a forensic psychiatrist that he kidnapped Athena Strand after she witnessed him using cocaine, as revealed in court testimony.
During the ongoing sentencing trial, Dr. Eileen Ryan testified on April 28 that Horner admitted to her that while delivering a package to Strand’s residence in Wise County, Texas, on November 30, 2022, the 7-year-old caught him in the act of drug use, causing him to panic.
Addressing the jury, Ryan explained, “He immediately assumed Athena saw him snorting cocaine and feared she would tell someone, which would result in him losing his job, and consequently, his ability to support his son,” as reported by Fox 4. She added, “He was terrified of losing his son and has been intensely focused on him for a long time.”
Dr. Ryan, who is a professor of psychiatry and behavioral health at Ohio State University College of Medicine, indicated that Horner became increasingly agitated upon realizing the child had seen him. In a state of panic, he decided to place Strand in his FedEx truck, as he continued to catastrophize the situation, according to her testimony.
“Once convinced that his employment was at risk because of Athena’s discovery, he was at a loss for actions,” she stated. “He ultimately mentioned, ‘there’s something in the truck.’”
Forensic Psychiatrist Says Tanner Horner’s Thinking “Snowballed”
Horner pled guilty to kidnapping and killing the 7-year-old then disposing her body in the river. Jurors are now tasked with determining whether to sentence him to death or life in prison.
As the defense lays out their case, Ryan was called to explain Horner’s alleged thinking at the time of the crime.
She testified, per Fox 4, that Horner told her the situation quickly “snowballed into an avalanche.”
“And he then said that he knew he had to kill her. And he tried to make it, as he put it, as painless and quick as possible,” she testified. “So he tried to, as he put it, I think it was snap her neck. But it’s not like in the movies. And it wasn’t working, and so he attempted to strangle her, and he had a number of attempts to strangle her, which were unsuccessful.”
Though he initially denied killing Strand during her conversation with him, Ryan said Horner eventually admitted to carrying out the killing, a sign that she believed suggested “he was deeply ashamed,” Fox 4 reported.
Ryan also testified that Horner had been diagnosed with Asperger’s disorder, autism spectrum disorder, major depressive disorder, ADHD, and bipolar disorder.
Although she told the jurors that none of the diagnoses prevented Horner from knowing right from wrong or caused him to commit the murder, combined she believed they showed he was a “severely compromised individual.”
Speech Pathologist Testifies Tanner Horner Struggles With “Social Appropriateness”
Jurors also heard from Dr. Amy Fritz, a speech pathologist called by the defense who testified that Horner had “significant difficultly with social appropriateness” and ability to understand others’ perspectives.
“If your cause to action is to abduct a child and kill them because you think they may have seen you do cocaine, you are definitely not understanding their perspective,” she testified per Fox 4. “And at the same time, it hypothetically could be a triggering event.”
Still, Fritz admitted that seeing the footage captured by the FedEx truck of Horner interacting with the child and killing her was disturbing.
“I think the violence of it was really incongruent with the gentleman that I met,” she said, per WFAA. “It was shocking. It was horrific. It’s awful and I’m so sorry.”
Tanner Horner Offers Multiple Explanations For Killing
Throughout the investigation, Horner has provided differing accounts of why he killed Strand. Shortly after his arrest, he told investigators that he accidentally struck Strand with his truck and panicked.
Then later claimed his alter ego named “Zero” was responsible for the death.
Texas Ranger Job Espinoza testified earlier in the trial that investigators played into Horner’s claim and addressed him as “Zero” to get him to confess to the crime, per KERA News.
“I played his game, and I spoke to Zero,” Espinoza said on the stand. “Ultimately, it’s about locating Athena and getting the truth, and whatever he wants to be called, I’m willing to do that as long as it means actually getting to the truth.”
The defense will continue to lay out their case for life in prison as the sentencing trial continues this week.