Athena Strand - Captured Before Christmas

But as investigators began tracing delivery roots, reviewing hidden truck footage, and unraveling conflicting stories, the case quickly transformed into something far darker than anyone initially realized, and what they eventually uncovered would shock people across the country and globe, as the story of a monster who stole a child would leave an entire community forever changed. And I should warn you this story deals in child abuse in violent and

sexual nature. This is the story of Athenis Strand.

supposed to be really good for allergies. You get honey from your local area, which is made by bees from the local pollen and flowers, and it's very much so just like the same effect of when you get like a vaccine or a booster shot, except it's a natural version of it where you get the bit of the pollen and it helps your immunity.

sad story. And if you are one of the people who skip the intros, I suggest you go back and listen to the intro because there is a bit of a trigger warning regarding children this story.

it yet. Not many YouTubers or podcasts, So we are one of the first to bring the story in the forefront as far as this medium. But there is a lot out there delivering all the information. So I had a lot to sift through. I bet Yeah, what are you ready for it?

even farms. It's quiet. The town itself only had a few thousand residents, and much of Wise County carried the same slow pace and small town familiarity that many rural Texas communities were known for. And in many ways, it is exactly as as it's called. It's Paradise.

The home sat on several acres of land, with outbuildings nearby, including a converted shed which was storage, but it had been turned into a bedroom area. It was the kind of property where children can go out and roam and explore. People who knew Athena described her as loud, but in the best way possible. She was energetic, outspoken, funny, and deeply emotional. She also loved the color pink. She loved barbies,

but she also loved art and drawing. She was very creative and very caring, but also wild and full of energy. She was also described as the kind of child who was always seeming to have a smile on her face. Athena also had a habit of speaking her mind too. If she was excited, people knew about it. And if she was upset, well, people also knew about it. To say the least, there was nothing quiet or reserved about

her personality. Family members even described her as the type of child who filled every room the moment she walked into it. At school, she was known for being social and affectionate towards other students. Her teacher, Lindsey Thompson, said that Athena had a huge personality. It was the kind of student who constantly stood out in class. She also said that Athena often tried to include other classmates who

were sitting alone or who were upset. She could be emotional and dramatic one moment, then completely carefree the next, but to the adults around her, she still felt very much so like a little kid. I mean, that's what she was. She was seven years old. She was someone who was playful, trusting, and curious about the world around her now. Athena's teacher also described another moment that soon

came to haunt her. Actually, you see, during one school conversation, Miss Thompson had apparently asked the students a simple question about the future. She asked them if they had a tomorrow, trying to give them a sense of time and space and thinking ahead, looking forward to the future, and Athena enthusiastically answered yes, as if she couldn't wait for it to come. But unfortunately, as we all know, tomorrow sometimes

doesn't come for us all. By the fall of twenty twenty two, Athena was living in ordinary childhood life in rural Texas. Christmas was approaching, school was still in session, and the weather had started cooling down. Wednesday, November thirtieth, twenty twenty two, was just another day for the Strand family. Athena had spent part of her day at school before returning home to the family's property outside of Paradise. The

area around the house was rural spread out. As I mentioned, her father, Jacob was preparing to leave for a hunting and camping trip later that evening. Back at the house, Ashley was preparing dinner. Her stepmother. Athena had reportedly been helping sort laundry near that converted shed bedroom area around the same time. Tanner was working as a delivery driver on his route. Tanner was thirty one years old at the time, working as a contracted FedEx driver through a

company called Big Top Spin. Now, unlike direct FedEx employees. Contracted drivers often worked long rural delivery routes with less direct oversight. Tanner's route that day took him through Wise County and the surrounding rural communities like Paradise. On his deliveries. He was described that day as being very polite, joking about Christmas deliveries and all the packages that were coming through,

and even behaving completely normal. That normal appearance would later become one of the most disturbing aspects of this case. Investigators would eventually discover that while families were decorating for Christmas and children were playing outside, Tanner was moving through rural neighborhoods on that FedEx truck carrying hundreds of packages, and prosecutors would argue he was already planning violence at

that moment. Now, at some point that afternoon, Tanner arrived at the Strand property to deliver a package that contained Barbie dolls from the You Can Be Anything Barbie line, and it was meant to be a Christmas gift for Athena.

to do something like that. So when her stepmom, Ashley began to worry about this, she didn't have panic setting in right away, at least not yet, because she's probably somewhere. The property had plenty of places for a child to disappear too briefly, so family members checked the usual spots first. They searched around the house, around the converted shed, and around nearby vehicles and outbuildings. At one point they even

checked a pear tree that Athena liked to climb. Ashley called out for her repeatedly, over and over, expecting to hear an answer back at any moment, and then the warry would just melt away, but there was nothing. As the minutes passed by, and darkness slowly came blanketing over the Texas countryside. The warry got hit and heavier, and then, approximately by six forty one PM, a nine to one one call was officially made to report Athena missing. The

urgency escalated almost immediately. Wise County deputies began responding to the property, while family members and neighbors continued searching the surrounding area themselves. Deputies began gathering information at the property, with family members desperately trying to retrace Athena's last known movements, and Ashley explained that Athena had been sorting laundry near

that shed area shortly before she disappeared. She told them there was only a very small window of time between when she was last seen and when she was just suddenly gone. As the evening continued, more emergency vehicles arrived, and the flashing lights soon filled the property while officers spread out across nearby roads and fields in their search, Search teams began organizing, neighbors started joining the effort, and family members made calls to anyone who might have seen Athena.

Helicopters arrived soon too, their lights swept across the property in surrounding countryside, as darkness had officially settled over Paradise, both literally and metaphorically. For the Strand family, the realization hit hard in that very moment. Law enforcement was no longer treating this as a child who might have simply been someone hiding nearby in the bushes or maybe stuck in a little bit of a mud hole in a

ditch somewhere. They were treating this like a possible abduction, and in what seemed like the blink of an eye, the search for Athena grew into one of the largest missing child operations the area had seen in years. Investigators knew almost immediately that the timeline did not make sense. Athena had vanished within an extremely small window, with no suggestions or sightings or screams or anything being around, no struggle, no nothing. Throughout the night, the Strand family waited with

bated breath while authority searched the surrounding countryside. Athena's father, Jacob, later described the emotional collapse that followed. See he had actually already left earlier that day for his hunting and camping trip, but before receiving the terrifying news that Athena was missing, so he rushed back towards Paradise as the

search operations intensified around the property. At the same time, investigators began trying to reconstruct Athena's final known movements minute by minute, and one of the earliest breakthroughs came from the FedEx delivery records. Investigators soon learned that a package had been delivered to the Strand home shortly before Athena disappeared, and investigators quickly began tracing the root information connected to the driver responsible for that stop, which was Tanner Horn.

The FBI became heavily involved as authorities worked to map Tanner's movements through GPS data, delivery logs, and even TROCK activity. According to later testimony from FBI agent Patrick Maguire, investigators discovered a troubling gap in Tanner's delivery every timeline that evening see there was roughly a thirty minute period that did not line up cleanly with his scheduled route, and when agents contacted Tanner by phone, what he said immediately

raised some suspicion. See At first, Tanner reportedly claimed that he had seen a suspicious green Chevrolet astro van near the strand property. According to his story, the van had concerned him enough that he actually even remembered it specifically. However, investigators would later discover that there was no evidence supporting the existence of that vehicle. Tanner also reportedly claimed that during part of his route he had stopped because he

felt sick and needed to vomit. But as investigators continued checking his movements, the inconsistencies just kept growing, and what investigators did not realize initially was that the most important evidence in the case was already sitting inside Tanner's delivery truck.

period surrounding Athie in his disappearance. Now, Instead, they uncovered evidence that fundamentally changed the direction of this investigation. According to prosecutors later at trial, portions of the truck camera system appeared to have been intentionally covered prior to Tanner

arriving at the Strand property. It seemed that the front facing camera had been obstructed roughly an hour before Athena was abducted, suggesting that Tanner may have already been preparing to commit a violent crime before ever even even encountering Athena at all.

They also saw allegedly Tanner placing his hand over Athena's mouth after getting her into the truck, And what made the footage even more disturbing was that although the visual recordings were eventually obstructed, the audio still continued to run for an extended period of time. The recording captured Tanner speaking to Athena. He asked her questions about her age, where she went to school, all while warning her repeatedly

not to scream. At various points, he threatened to hurt her if she didn't stay quiet when she's asking, you know, where are we going? He eventually even told her that we're going to quote hang out. Then, as the recordings continued, Athena could reportedly be heard beginning to cry and as she was trying to understand what was going on. I'm sure that was a lot of emotion for such a young girl. At one point, Tanner allegedly instructed her to

remove her shirt. During another portion of the recording, Athena asked him if he he was a kidnapper. Now, one of the most disturbing moments investigators heard came when Athena asked Tanner why he was doing this to her, and, according to the recordings, he responded by saying, quote, because you are.

They still had not found Athena. When investigators pressed Tanner about what they had found, while he reportedly claimed that Athena had seen him snorting cocaine in his truck after the delivery, and then that's when he panicked because he was afraid he was going to lose his job and potentially lose access to his own son if Athena told anyone what she had seen. But even that explanation did not fit the evidence investigators were looking at. So of course Tanner changed his story again.

screams that could be hurt. The threats, and the length of the audio all pointed towards an ongoing, controlled situation rather than someone reacting irrationally after an incident like hitting a child with a vehicle. And then investigators were introduced to someone Tanner referred to as zero. Now during questioning, Tanner reportedly began talking about another personality or version of himself that he claimed had taken over. According to investigators,

his demeanor would sometimes change during interviews. At times, he altered his speech patterns and mannerisms while attempting to separate himself from the violence that had actually happened inside that truck. According to statements that investigators would later document, Tanner at one point said I didn't do it, but he did. He also reportedly said quote, I'm wondering who the hell's

been in my head this whole time. For investigators trying to locate Athena as quickly as possible, the situation became increasingly frustrating. Seemed every time they believed Tanner might finally be giving them truthful information, the story would just shift once again. Different explanations overlapped each other, certain details would change, and other details directly contradicted the evidence investigators already had

right in front of them. And at the center of it all was the most important unanswered question of the case. Where was Athena. Investigators pushed Tanner repeatedly for her location, but even then he continued to well negotiate. He even asked if he could spend one final Christmas with his son in exchange for information on Athena, but that request was denied. Then Tanner began giving authorities different locations where he claimed Athena could be found. The first location was false.

Investigators searched the area realized fairly quickly that they were being misled, and eventually, though the investigators finally began getting information that actually appeared to be a bit more credible. Tanner directed authorities towards an area near the Trinity River system southeast of Paradise, so search teams and investigators moved into the area while continuing to verify the information he was actually providing. Now at this point, investigators, of course

already feared the worst. Audio evidence they heard from inside the truck made it painfully cleared that Athena was likely no longer alive. The audio very clearly henced that a murder took place as well.

by Tanner. As investigators moved into the area near the Trinity River System, all hope disappeared. As Athena's body was located near a creek bed in the secluded area southeast of Paradise. The discovery was heavy, and it confirmed the fears investigators had already begun carrying privately while reviewing the

evidence inside the truck. Now, the recovery scene itself was emotionally devastating for the investigators involved, and authority soon began processing the area while the crime scene personnel documented the location, condition of evidence surrounding Athena's body everything they could. Her clothes had reportedly either been removed or partially removed during the attack, and investigators later recovered additional clothing items separately.

After realizing Tanner had not been fully truthful about where certain evidence had been discarded. At the same time, investigators were allo beginning to understand just how much evidence still might exist inside that FedEx truck itself. The audio recordings, the GPS data, the timeline gaps, the body recovery location were now starting to form a much clearer picture of the crime, and with every new discovery, Tanner's explanations were

becoming harder and harder to believe. Now that Athena had been found, the focus of the investigation shifted to reconstructing exactly what had happened to Athena after she disappeared from the Strand property and determining what physical evidence Tanner may

have left behind during the murder and the attack. Investigators began processing nearly everything connected to Tanner's movements over those two days, that included the FedEx truck itself, Tanner's clothing, evidence recovered during the autopsy, digital records, root information, GPS tracking, Internet search history, and locations Tanner even visited after Athena disappeared, and the FedEx truck quickly be came one of those most important pieces of information. I mean, it was the

crime scene itself, after all. Inside the vehicle, investigators already had the audio recordings and the footage, but the physical process of the truck itself added another layer of evidence on top of it.

to service the following day. Authorities also began examining Tanner's digital activity following the disappearance too. During the investigation, they reportedly discovered Internet searches connected to the case itself, including searches asking if FedEx truck cameras were constantly recording, as well as searches involving the Missing Paradise Girl investigation.

for good reason, which comes up in the trial later on. Now, male DNA was reportedly recovered from swabs taken during the examination, including vaginal swabs may have been Investigators also reportedly recovered Tanner's DNA from underneath Athena's fingernails, suggesting a physical struggle to fight back during that attack.

Investigators would later identify blood evidence and semen on portions of Tanner's FedEx uniform recovered during the investigation, and as forensic analysis continued processing the evidence, investigators also began comparing everything against Tanner's changing explanations for what had happened, and the deeper they looked, the less believable his already far

fetch stories became. And while this was all going on, investigators also began piecing together more information about Tanner himself. Tanner was thirty one years old at the time of Athenis murder. He worked as a contracted FedEx delivery driver through Big Top Spin. To many people who encountered him during his roots, he appeared fairly ordinary, even polite and conversational.

He even was normal around families with children, But that contrast would become one of the most disturbing aspects of this entire case. As investigators dug into Tanner's background, they began uncovering a history marked by instability, emotional problems, and troubling behavior dating back years, and Tanner even grew up in a deeply dysfunctional environment himself. His childhood reportedly involved a fair amount of instability, with conflict, additional issues within

the home, and long term emotional problems. People who knew him described someone who often struggled socially and emotionally, all from an early age. Investigators also learned about allegations involving abuse and disturbing behavior from Tanner's younger years. One of the most significant accounts came from a man identified publicly as Billy, who described alleged incidents involving Tanner from childhood. According to Billy's account, Tanner had displayed sexually abusive and

controlling behavior years before Athenis Murder. Billy also reportedly recalled Tanner once talking about wondering what it would feel like to kill someone. Authorities also began uncovering more information about Tanner's mental health history and behavior patterns. People who knew him described emotional instability and difficulty maintaining relationships, as well

as social awkwardness and periods of bizarre behavior. There were also claims involving heavy emotional immaturity and apparent tendencies to retreat into fantasy or avoidance rather than handling stress in any sort of healthy ways. The same time, investigators continued examining Tanner's conduct immediately after the murder, too. It seemed the further they look into his actions following Athena's disappearance,

the more calculated parts of his behavior appeared. He continued portions of the delivery route after the murder, he attempted to clean the truck, he had searched online for information involving the truck's cameras and the missing Girl investigation, and according to later reporting surrounding the case, he even drove back through parts of Paradise where the active search operations

for Athena were still underway. As more evidence accumulated, investigators increasingly believed Tanner's behavior showed awareness, concealment, and manipulation rather than any sort of emotional collapse as he was so claiming. Yet still through various points during questioning, Tanner continued cycling through different explanations for the murder, But investigators now had an entire library of evidence against him at this point, like, I mean, it's a literal library, and eventually the case

against him became just too impossible to dispute. So on December second, twenty twenty two, Tanner Horner was formally arrested and charged in connection with Athena Strand's abduction and murder. By the time Tanner's case finally reached the court, it was in twenty twenty six. More than three years had passed since Athena's Strand disappeared from her family's property outside of Paradise, and only one month before the recording of

this podcast episode. During that time, the case had received enormous media attention across Texas and far beyond it, with a story going viral in many corners of the Internet.

But ultimately there was never going to be a traditional fight over whether Tanner Horner committed the crimes he was accused of, because on April seventh, twenty twenty six, just as trial proceedings were being Tanner Horner pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping and connection with Athenis strands murder.

They heard testimony from investigators, FBI agents, forensic analysis psychologists, medical experts, family members, and people connected to Tanner's past. They were shown crime scene evidence, root data, digital evidence, interrogation footage, photographs, and portions of the recording recovered from inside the FedEx truck. Even and some of the evidence was so emotionally difficult that multiple people inside the courtroom reportedly broke out in tears during portions of the testimony.

The truck recordings became some of the most devastating evidence presented during this whole trial. Jurors heard portions of the audio recordings from inside that vehicle, including Athena's crying, asking questions and trying to understand what was happening to her.

than any sort of panic occurring. The state also argued that Tanner represented a continuing danger to society, which under Texas law, became one of the central questions jurors needed to answer before they could impose a death sentence. The defense, meanwhile, approached the case very differently. Rather than challenging whether the murder occurred, defense attorneys focused heavily on Tanner's background, psychological history,

emotional development, and mental health struggles. Jurors heard testimony about Tanner's unstable childhood, alleged fetal alcohol related development problems, social dysfunction, emotional immaturity, and possible autism spectrum characteristics. Psychologists also discussed Tanner's reference to this zero the alternate identity he repeatedly

mentioned during questioning after the murder. The defense argued that zero represented psychological fragmentation and disassociation rather than SI pull manipulation, while prosecutors argue the behavior reflected attempts to distance himself from any sort of responsibility. The forensic evidence connected to possible sexual assault also became a major point of conflict during the trial. That's why it was very careful on

using the word alleged with it earlier. Prosecutors argued that the biological evidence, truck recordings, clothing condition, and overall circumstances strongly supported that Athena had been sexually assaulted during the attack, while defense attorneys challenged how conclusive certain aspects of the forensic evidence actually were, arguing that some biological findings could

not definitively establish every detail prosecutors were claiming. Still, much of the emotional center of the trial remained focused on Athena herself rather than legal arguments surrounding Tanner, which is good. I appreciate that throughout the proceedings, Athena's family continually wore pink in her honor, whether it was a pink shirt or a ribbon or anything. I mean, after all, it was her favorite color.

young age. Yet the person who did that very fucking thing is heat from you.

As a sentencing phase continued, prosecutors focused heavily on building a picture of ten Or as someone who was not only responsible for Athena's murder, but someone they believed posed a continuous dangerous threat to society. And that under TECH law is critical in order for jurors to impose that death penalty, as I mentioned earlier, they need to determine that Tanner would likely commit future acts of violence if

allowed to live. And I'm not saying just beyond the prison walls, because you can say, well, if he's in prison, he's not a threat to society. What about threats to inmates, what about threats to correctional officers? What about threats to himself? What about threats to anything? And to impose the death penalty, they needed to say that he was in fact a threat period.

manipulative behaviors they believed were present. Prosecutors argue the evidence showed control, concealment, planning, and sexual motivation from beginning to end, basically, and one of the biggest pieces of that argument involved

the truck cameras. We've mentioned it a few times, but according to investigators' portions of the camera setup appeared to have been intentionally covered before Tanner ever arrived at the Strand property, and they argued that detail was extremely important because it suggests that Tanner had already been preparing to commit violence before ever encountering Athena, meaning he knew what he was going to do. It was premeditation.

family in the past and made a decision. My guess is likely he knew of areas like this, He knew of families with kids playing outside, not quite being attended to every single second, knowing there's opportunities, and he covered the camera looking for one of those opportunities, and he found one in Athena.

are pretty. The prosecution argued that that statement alone revealed sexual motivation and completely underminded Tanner's later attempts to portray the murder as some kind of accident or panic response. The state also called mental health experts who challenged the defense's portrayal of Tanner as psychologically detached from reality. During the murder, prosecution expert doctor Michael Arambula argued that Tanner's behavior showed organization and situal awareness, as well as adaptability

and consciousness of guilt. He pointed towards the truck camera obstruction again he pointed towards attempts of cleanup internet searches and misleading statements the evidence concealment all of it as proof that Tanner fully understood both his actions and the consequences of them. While prosecutors spent the trial presenting Tanner as a calculated, sexually motivated predator, the defense focused on

something very different. They focused on how Tanner became Tanner now because he had already pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping. The defense was not trying to convince jurors he was innocent. That was clear. That wasn't the case. They knew the evidence surrounding Athena's murder was overwhelming, and

so instead they concentrated almost entirely on mitigation. Instead, their goal was to persuade jurors that, despite the brutality of the crime, Tanner's psychological history, developmental problems, and dysfunctional upbringing all justified sparing his life and sentencing him to prison without parole instead of the death penalty. And much of

the defense's case centered around Tanner's childhood. Jerbers heard testimony describing a chaotic and unstable upbringing marked by addiction, emotional dysfunction, and long term neglect. All those things we mentioned. According to the testimony presented during the trial, Tanner's mother drank heavily while pregnant with him. The defense expert argued that fetal alcohol related developmental damage may have affected him throughout

his entire life. The defense also introduced testimony involving possible lead exposure during Tanner's childhood. I experts explain that chronic led exposure can impact impulse control, emotional regulation, cognitive development, and decision making abilities, especially when combined with trauma and instability during early development. Psychologists called by the defense described Tanner as emotionally mature, socially isolated, and psychologically damaged long

before Athena's murder ever occurred. One of the central witnesses for the defense was psychologist doctor Joel bram who spent extensive time evaluating Tanner and reviewing his background history, and according to doctor Brahms, Tanner struggled with emotional regulation throughout much of his life and often coped with stress or emotional conflicts through avoidance and fantasy rather than healthy processing. The defense also argued Tanner displayed characteristics associated with autism,

spectrum disorder, and developmental dysfunction. Witnesses described him as being withdrawn, isolated, and frequently unable to understand or navigate normal social interactions. According to testimony, Tanner had reportedly struggled with bullying, emotional instability, and social problems dating all the way back to school and childhood, and then there was zero. Throughout the investigative trial, Tanner repeatedly referred to another personality or another version of

himself by the name Zero. The defense argued that this zero was not simply an invented excuse, but instead it was part of Tanner's disassociative coping mechanisms and emotional fragmentation. Doctor Brahms testified that she did not believe Tanner literally had multiple personalities, at least not in the way many

people imagine it, imagine this disassociative identity disorder to be. Instead, she described zero more as a psychological separation Tanner had created between himself and the actions he emotionally could not process or confront directly, which to me says, Okay, he's just not taking blame for it, but he knows he still did it.

less morally culpable than prosecutors claimed. Is what their point was that they were trying to make. I don't think they made that point, but that's what they were trying to do. And I alluded to this a few times already.

But the forensic evidence surrounding the possible sexual assault also became a major area of challenging for challenges for the defense because while prosecutors argue the evidence strongly supported that Athena had been sexually assaulted and raped during the murder, defense attorneys repeatedly questioned how definitive certain forensic conclusions actually were.

Jurors heard arguments that investigators could not conclusively determine the exact source of every biological sample recovered during the autopsy, basically saying, yeah, it's his biological DNA, but can you say how it got there, why it got there, and is it actually seen? In all this sort of stuff, defense attorneys also pointed towards testimony indicating that there was no obvious visible genitalia trauma identified during the medical examination

and rape kit. The defense argued prosecutors were overstating the certainty of the sexual assault and rape related evidence in order to emotionally influence the jury, and at the same time, the defense also tried to push back against the state's arguments that Tanner represented an ongoing danger to society, but to step back for a second to the sexual assault

and rape. Again. The reason why I'm using the word allegedly is because there is arguments in court whether it was factual or was not factual, and because he was not ever committed of any sexual act, we cannot definitively say for certain that it occurred. We can say there is evidence that it likely occurred, but unfortunately that's as far as we can legally go. But I'm sure we can all make our proper resis.

but as the little girl they knew personally. Quote there are no words that truly capture the devastation that Tanner Horner caused us in our family end quote. He described how Athena had filled every space around her with energy and excitement. He spoke about memories of her running towards him, yelling Uncle Elijah, and the pain of knowing he would never hear those words again. Elijah also described how Athena's

murder permanently changed the younger children in the family. According to him, children who once felt safe playing outside no longer viewed the world the same way after what had happened to Athena. Athena had not disappeared from some dangerous urban environment late at night. She had vanished while playing outside near her home in rural Texas during the early evenings in a place literally called paradise.

The trial had spent weeks dissecting Tanner Horner's behavior, his psychology, his lies, his actions, and his violence, But for Athena's family, the story was never supposed to become about him. It was supposed to remain about Athena. Everything that took place in the courtroom was heavy, beyond belief and emotionally weighed

inside everyone inside the courtroom. It was reportedly overwhelming, Yet under Texas law, jurors considered the death penalty and they had to decide whether Tanner would likely commit future violent acts if allowed to live, and they still had their job to do too. Was on May fifth, twenty twenty six, only three days ago as of recording this episode, when jurors returned to the courtroom with their decision and Judge

George Gallagher read the jury's findings aloud. As the judge addressed the court, he said, first, jurors unanimously determined that Tanner Horner would in fact likely commit future acts of violence and therefore represented a continuing danger to society. They also rejected the argument that mitigating factors in Tanner's background justified sentencing him to life without parole instead of death, and so with those findings complete, the sentencing became official.

Tanner Horner was sentenced to death, and Judge Gallagher formally sentenced Tanner to death by lethal injection. Under Texas procedure. The execution itself will eventually take place in Huntsville at a later date still to be determined. The court also acknowledged that an automatic appeal process would immediately begin. Under Texas law, any sort of death sentence automatically goes to appeal as required by any sort of death penal case

or whatever meaning. Athena's family, though will likely still be going through court dates ahead of them for years to come as they continue to deal with Tanner and the loss of Athena. Still, for Athena's family, the verdict brought a complex mix of emotions, as no sentence could actually undo what had happened. Athena was still gone. A seven year old little girl was still abducted from outside her

home by a delivery driver during the Christmas season. It's a kind of crime that shook everyone on a very deep level. It shattered assumptions about safety, trust, and ordinary routines in a way that will linger long after the headline's fade. Athena was a seven year old girl who suffered far too much for any child, and throughout the investigation and trial, family members, teachers, and friends consistently described

Athena in almost the exact same way. She was loud, She was funny, emotional, creative, energetic, She loved attention, she loved being around people, She loved Pink Barbie's art and expressing herself. People repeatedly described her as the kind of kid who completely filled the room with energy the moment that she walked into it. Her teacher remembered her as a social and deeply caring individual towards her classmates and

especially kids who seemed upset or left out. Only members described her as dramatic in the way only little kids can be, shifting from emotional tears to excitement within minutes, and because those descriptions remained so consistent throughout the years, Athena never became just another true crime victim in the eyes of the people who loved her. She remained a real child with a real personality, a real person who will be missed, and that mattered deeply to her family.

Throughout the trial, they repeatedly tried to pull focus away from Tanner and back towards Athena herself, which is amazing and exactly something we stand to strive for in this podcast. Tell a victim story, remember them. They deserve it at the very least, and that sentiment especially became clear through Elijah's Strand's statement describing Tanner as quote only a footnote in Athena's story. For the family, the case was never

supposed to become about a man who murdered her. It was supposed to remain about Athena, and in fact, I withheld a quote from Athena's uncle Elijah to mention right now in order to highlight this sentiment, because he said it better than I ever could. As he stood in the courtroom that day, up on the stand, he looked directly towards Tanner, and Elijah said this quote, her name will forever be remembered, her name will forever be celebrated, and everyone will forget you. End quote. Athena was an

innocent seven year old girl looking forward to Christmas. And she's no longer here, but that doesn't mean her name or memory has to fade. And that's the story of Athenis Strand.

lot of audio. There's so much to it. He is fucked and I'm so glad he's going to be removed from this world because fuck this guy. Oh I'm raging.

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