Tanner Horner, accused of killing 7-year-old Athena Strand, pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping as his trial started.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Tanner Horner, the man accused of killing 7-year-old Athena Strand, pleaded guilty on Tuesday just moments into the trial.
Horner’s trial began Tuesday in Tarrant County after presiding Judge George Gallagher moved the case from Wise County, citing concerns he could not receive a fair trial there.
Horner pleaded guilty to all charges – capital murder and aggravated kidnapping – on the first day of the trial.
As soon as the court feed went live at 9 a.m. Tuesday, the judge was heard talking to the defense team, and Horner, about his apparent decision to plead guilty. That would mean that the guilt-innocence phase of the trial would be skipped over, and the question about whether he received the death penalty or life in prison would begin.
How did we get here?
In November 2022, according to court documents, Horner told police he struck Strand with his delivery van while backing up. He allegedly kidnapped her and strangled her out of fear that she would tell her father about the incident, documents said. Horner later led authorities to where he had left her body in Wise County near Boyd, authorities said.
Horner’s lawyers have asked the Tarrant County court to take the death penalty off the table, saying he has autism.
They argued that Horner’s Autism Spectrum Disorder “reduces his moral blameworthiness, negates the retributive and deterrent purposes of capital punishment and exposes him to the unacceptable risk that he will be wrongfully sentenced to death.” They also argued that data obtained from Horner’s phone should not be admissible at trial, according to another filing.