Will Tanner Horner Avoid Death Penalty? Strand Killer Cites Mental Health

A Tarrant County jury sentenced Tanner Horner to death for the 2022 kidnapping and murder of 7-year-old Athena Strand, but his case will now head into the automatic appeals process required under Texas law.

Jurors in Fort Worth sentenced Horner to death on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. He pleaded guilty to capital murder last month, when the trial began, moving the proceeding directly to punishment.

The former FedEx driver admitted to killing Strand after he kidnapped her from her home in the rural town of Paradise, near Fort Worth, while delivering her Christmas gift. Her body was found two days after she was reported missing.

Texas law requires an automatic appeal in all death penalty cases, meaning Horner's sentence will be reviewed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals before any execution can move forward. Attorneys for Horner had previously asked for the death penalty to be taken off the table because he has autism and “various mental illnesses.”

Tanner Horner Sentenced to Death for Murder of Athena Strand

Jurors in Fort Worth found Horner would be a continuing threat to society and that there were no mitigating circumstances warranting life without parole after a month of testimony that included audio from inside his delivery van capturing Strand’s final moments, according to the AP.

Horner, at sentencing, showed little visible reaction as the judge read the verdict, and the courtroom grew emotional as family members wept, the AP reported.

Prosecutors argued Horner lied repeatedly and described him as "a true predator," while defense attorneys urged jurors to consider his upbringing, autism diagnosis and mental health challenges as mitigating factors.

Horner’s Defense

In a set of pretrial motions, Horner's defense asked the court to remove the death penalty from consideration on the grounds that autism spectrum disorder impairs culpability in ways comparable to intellectual disability, which the U.S. Supreme Court has said violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on "cruel and unusual punishments."

"The court has ‘categorically prohibited the imposition of the death penalty where a particular characteristic of the defendant renders him less culpable, negates the retributive and deterrent aims of capital punishment, or creates a risk of an erroneous death sentence,'" the defense wrote in a motion, according to FOX 4 Dallas.

The defense also pointed to the case of Texas inmate Robert Roberson, whose execution was halted and the case remanded amid arguments tied to autism, to argue courts should extend constitutional protections to defendants on the autism spectrum, FOX 4 Dallas previously reported.

Judges denied efforts to strike the death penalty during trial, including a last-minute motion citing pervasive media attention, and the jury proceeded to issue a unanimous death sentence.

Horner's attorney, Steven Goble, asked jurors to sentence his client to life in prison, telling them Horner had fetal alcohol syndrome disorder because his mother drank while she was pregnant, that he suffered from "various mental illnesses throughout his life" and had been exposed to a "massive amount of lead."

Under Texas's capital punishment system, defendants sentenced to death automatically enter a multi-stage appeals process that can take years or even decades. The first stage is a direct appeal to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state's highest criminal court, which reviews the trial for legal or constitutional errors. Defendants can then pursue additional state and federal habeas corpus appeals, including claims related to ineffective counsel, prosecutorial misconduct or mental competency.

What Happened to Athena Strand?

Authorities said Horner abducted Strand outside her father’s home on November 30, 2022, while delivering a package that her family later said contained Barbie dolls.

Horner initially told investigators he had accidentally struck her with his van before killing her in panic, but prosecutors said this was not true and showed jurors footage of Horner lifting Strand into the van, and then driving away, telling her not to scream, or he'd hurt her, the AP reported.

A medical examiner testified that Strand died of blunt force injuries with smothering and strangulation.

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This story was originally published May 6, 2026 at 7:59 AM.