A Texas jury has sentenced former FedEx driver Tanner Horner, 34, to death for the kidnapping and murder of seven-year-old Athena Strand in November 2022. Horner had pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping on April 7.

Jury sentences Tanner Horner to death in Athena Strand murder case. (AP)

Horner abducted Athena from her home in Wise County in Texas while working as a delivery driver and later killed her inside his vehicle. Prosecutors said his actions showed deliberate intent, while he claimed he panicked after an incident. Authorities found her body two days later, and the medical examiner said she died from blunt force trauma, smothering and strangulation, according to People.

Who is his ex-girlfriend?

Horner does not appear to have any children or a wife. His ex-girlfriend who is identified as Reba was testified during the sentencing phase and told jurors that their relationship ultimately ended because Horner was not ready to be a father and wanted to focus on his music, per People.

Reba said she and Horner first dated in high school, where she described him as “sweet and endearing.” The two later reconnected as adults and briefly resumed a romantic relationship before it ended after about three months. She also said that Horner “wanted more of a friends-with-benefits type of thing,” per NBC DFW.

Reba also testified that after their initial breakup, she grew deeply concerned about Horner’s mental state. “He did come to my house one time to ask for clarification of what was going on. And he walked about 20 miles to my house,” she told jurors, per NBC DFW.

 

His mother’s testimony

Horner’s mother who is referred to as Mrs Horner during the trial took the stand and painted a deeply troubled picture of his upbringing.

According to People, She was born to a teenage mother in Fort Worth in Texas and claimed her stepfather abused her as a child. She dropped out of high school around ninth grade and was sent to rehab at 14 for smoking marijuana and later began working at a strip club where she developed addictions to meth, heroin and cocaine. “I used everything I could get my hands on,” she told the court. “It wasn’t a good lifestyle.”

She met Horner’s father, Terry at the strip club when she was 17 and he was 29. She alleged that Terry raped her the night they first met. “The first night we met, he raped me,” she said in court. The two later married and had Tanner, along with another son about a decade later

 

Mrs Horner testified that she had been drinking heavily and using drugs before learning she was pregnant with Tanner. She continued to smoke marijuana and cigarettes throughout the pregnancy. Once Tanner began school, she noticed he was struggling both socially and academically. He was later diagnosed with Asperger’s and ADHD. “He didn’t get along with other people. He wanted to get along with people, but they weren’t interested in having conversations with him,” she said. “It was sad to watch. They didn’t like him at all,” per People.

During Tanner’s childhood, Mrs Horner went to rehab multiple times and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder, per CBS News. She was also arrested on several occasions for drug use and prostitution and served time in prison. During those periods, Tanner stayed with his grandmother. She told the court that on one occasion Tanner walked in to find her unconscious on the toilet after a drug episode. “He was just a little guy, and he thought I was dead,” she said, per People.

Despite everything, Mrs Horner said she still loves her son. “Of course, I love my son,” she told the court. “I don’t love who did that, though. I don’t know what that was,” per People.