'Everyone Will Forget You': Athena Strand's Uncle Delivers Savage Message to Killer FedEx Driver Tanner Horner After He Was Sentenced to Die by Lethal Injection
Tanner Horner was sentenced to death for the killing of Athena Strand.
May 5 2026, Published 5:13 p.m. ET
Tanner Horner has been sentenced to death by lethal injection for the murder of 7-year-old Athena Strand, RadarOnline.com can report.
The FedEx driver confessed to abducting the young girl and strangling her to death in a gruesome crime in 2022.
Angry Family Members Lash Out
The FedEx driver kidnapped and killed the young girl after delivering some Christmas presents to her house.
Horner's sentence came after weeks of emotional and often graphic testimony, including the playing of Strand's struggle with her captor caught on the deliveryman's truck camera.
The sentencing phase of the trial wrapped up with one final family member delivering a staggering message to the murderer.
"You will be judged. You will face the wrath of god," Strand's uncle said, wagging a finger at Horner as he spoke. "But I want you to know that you are nothing. You are a footnote in Athena's story."
Through tears, he scolded that his niece will be remembered and honored forever, unlike Horner.
"Everyone will forget you," he raged. "You wanted your 15 minutes of fame. You got it. And no one is going to remember you after this."
Tanner Horner's Mother Described His Childhood
Horner's mom did not want to reveal her name or identity on camera.
The killer had hoped that in coming forward and sharing his harrowing life story, he could be spared the death penalty and instead be sent to life in prison without parole.
Horner's defense attorneys closed their arguments on Tuesday, May 5, stating that prosecutors failed to prove their client was a threat to society. They also said Horner's upbringing should be considered a mitigating factor warranting a life sentence.
Earlier in the sentencing phase, Horner's mother, who did not want to share her name and asked that her face be blurred on camera, spoke about her and her son's tough childhoods.
She said he often had meltdowns when he was younger, which she just assumed were temper tantrums. But when he started getting bullied in school, he would act out violently by hitting himself in the head – but never her or other people.
"They kept telling me it was ADHD, but it wasn't," she said about Horner's doctors. "They were always trying to treat him for something he didn't have. The medicine would always change him and make him something he wasn't."
Athena Strand's Final Fight
Horner had hoped to avoid the death penalty.
Horner pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping on April 7, just as his trial was about to begin. Prosecutors earlier told jurors Horner abducted Strand while delivering a Christmas present before killing her and dumping her naked body in a creek.
Before playing the chilling audio of the young girl's final fight for her life, Wise County District Attorney James Stainton warned jurors, "You are going to hear what a 250-pound man can do to a 67-pound child. And when I say it's horrible, I mean it. I've been doing this 25 years, and I promise you, buckle up."
A forensic expert testified, "When police found Strand's body, she had markings pressed into her face that matched the floor of Horner's FedEx vehicle."
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Tanner Horner's Flimsy Excuse
Jurors heard graphic audio of Athena Strand's struggle to stay alive.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Horner confessed to the crime but tried to convince authorities that he accidentally backed into the 7-year-old with his FedEx truck.
He further told investigators that the child wasn’t seriously hurt, but he kidnapped her and strangled her inside the truck so she couldn’t tell her father about the accident.
However, the camera inside his truck told a different story, and a frame from the video shared with jurors showed the girl very much alive, quivering in fear behind the driver.
"One thing that you can't unhear is the level of fight in a 7-year-old girl when she's facing certain death," Stainton said, adding that Horner tried to kill the child "over and over again."
