Jurors in Athena Strand killer sentencing shown grim new evidence

Horrific footage in the sentencing trial of Athena Strand’s killer led a Texas TV station to pause its broadcast as jurors were shown grisly images from her last moments. 

The fourth day of the trial of Tanner Horner, 34, on Friday saw NBC Dallas Fort Worth temporarily end its stream when investigators revealed fresh evidence against the killer.

The broadcast was halted as jurors were played nightmarish audio and shown images from inside Horner’s FedEx truck that he used to abduct the seven-year-old from outside her home in Paradise, Texas, in November 2022. 

The evidence reportedly included excerpts from an hour-long video in which Horner strangled the girl to death, which the outlet opted not to share on its site. 

It came after prosecutors also showed images of straps found inside Horner’s truck after Strand’s murder, including a bungee-like cord and a looping rope. 

A forensic crime scene investigator took the stand on Friday, telling the court that a forensic test revealed a large amount of bodily fluids had been cleaned inside the truck. 

Investigators did not specify what bodily fluids were found, but said they were believed to be from the moment that Horner strangled Strand to death. 

Alise Amey, a crime scene investigator with the Wise County Sheriff’s Office, added in follow-up testimony that when they found Strand’s body, there were marks on her face ‘consistent with the floor’ of the van.

Horner was seen closing his eyes and bowing his head as much of the horrific evidence was displayed in the courtroom.  

Horner was set to begin trial this week and had previously pleaded not guilty before he abruptly changed his plea to guilty on the eve of the trial.

He is now facing a sentencing trial as jurors will decide if he should face the death penalty for murdering the seven-year-old. 

Horner abducted Strand from her family’s home in Paradise, Texas, on November 30, 2022, as he delivered a box of Barbies to the residence. The toys were meant to be her Christmas present.

Strand was strangled to death by Horner in his truck, with her tortured last minutes captured by a microphone in his vehicle after he covered a camera inside.

Horner initially told police that he unintentionally hit the child with his truck before ‘accidentally’ killing her in a panic.

But his story soon unraveled when police found an image from his truck camera that showed Strand alive in the vehicle as Horner drove her away.

The horror evidence shown on Friday came after jurors were cautioned at the start of the trial by Wise County prosecutors that they would still be presented with all the gruesome details in the case, including the horrific audio of Strand’s killing.

Wise County District Attorney James Stainton said: ‘You are going to hear what a 250lb man can do to a 67lb child. And when I say it’s horrible, I mean it.’

Horner is said to have warned Strand: ‘Don’t scream or I’ll hurt you,’ as he picked her up and put her in his truck.

‘I’m going to put you as close as you can be without actually being there that day. We have video of it and we’re going to show it now,’ Stainton told the jury.

The horrific audio came after jurors were shown separate footage from Horner’s interrogation after his arrest in November 2022, revealing that he made an audacious request to enjoy a month with his son for Christmas in exchange for information about Strand’s death. 

The jury was told that Horner requested to have the interview with investigators, and he began the conversation by telling them: ‘I imagine that you have, basically, a list and bullet points that you want to know from me.’ 

‘There’s only one thing in this world that I want,’ Horner said. ‘I want a month.’

He continued: ‘You can’t do that, I understand. Even if y’all have to put an ankle monitor on me, GPS monitor, check-ups with you.

‘If you give me a month with my family, so I can have Christmas with my son, I’ll tell you everything.’

Police told the suspect that his entitled request was likely impossible, as he was under arrest for the murder of the child.

‘Either way, that’s basically my price,’ Horner responded. The request was not granted.

In separate footage from Horner’s interrogations shown on Thursday, it was revealed that the killer told police that his alter ego, named Zero, was the one who murdered Strand. 

He described feeling detached from his actions as he strangled her to death, saying he was ‘in the back seat watching everything happen, and I’m kind of freaking out.’

Horner said he was under heavy stress for the six months that he worked as a FedEx driver and was suffering repeat mental breakdowns, and said it was around this time in the summer of 2022 when he started being his alter ego, ‘Zero’.

‘It started off as like, almost like a little devil on my shoulder kind of thing, you know what I mean?’ Horner told police following his arrest.

‘But then after a while, it just kind of turned into I was switching back and forth sometimes, like at times where I was stressed out, I would essentially switch, if that makes sense.’

He said he would often wake up in strange places and not remember how he got there, and said when ‘Zero’ took over he was ‘in the back seat.’

Horner said that when he first encountered Strand, ‘Zero kind of took over’, and he began referring to his alter ego in the third person.

‘He told her, ‘Just get in the back of the van, we’re going to go to the hospital,” Horner said in his police interview.

He said he didn’t kill Strand, but his alter ego did, saying: ‘I didn’t do it, but he did, and that’s what fucks with me… I’m wondering who the hell’s been in my head this whole time.’

Bodycam footage shown in court then revealed how Horner took the officers to search for Strand in a wooded area.

After they failed to locate her, Horner told officers he was unsure of her exact location because of the callous way he dumped her remains.

‘I just kind of tossed her in,’ he said, adding, ‘I don’t know why y’all haven’t found her yet.’

Horner, whose lawyers cited mental illnesses during their opening statements, only told officers the exact location of her body after they spoke directly to his ‘alter ego’.

The killer presented as Zero multiple times throughout his two-hour-long interrogation at the jail.

‘His demeanor, physical demeanor changes,’ Texas Ranger Joshua Espinoza said on the stand. ‘His head goes into a sideways motion. His eyes roll into the back of the head, and he pretends to turn it to Zero.’

Espinoza said that he knew to find Strand’s body, he would have to ‘play his game’ and ‘address him as Zero.’

Once the ranger spoke to ‘Zero,’ Horner directed them to a cliff near a guardrail and showed them where he had placed Strand’s body.

Espinoza testified that he saw her naked body lying beneath the water.

The ranger then addressed Zero directly: ‘I know Tanner didn’t sexually assault this girl. I know Tanner didn’t hurt this girl, but I know you did. Did you sexually assault this girl?’

‘No,’ Horner replied.

‘Did you kill this little girl, Zero?’ the detective asked.

‘Tanner wouldn’t do it,’ Horner replied.

‘Thank you for bringing me to her. Thank you for letting me get her home,’ the detective said.

The trial continues.