Father Of Texas Girl Who Was Allegedly Murdered By FedEx Worker Files Lawsuit
Tanner Horner.
Dec. 16 2022, Published 12:39 p.m. ET
The father of a Texas girl who was strangled earlier this month has filed a lawsuit against FedEx after one of its employees was arrested in connection to her death, Radar has learned.
A lawsuit filed in the 271st Judicial District in Wise County, Texas states that Jacob Strand is suing the delivery company over its failure to supervise Tanner Horner, 31, who is accused of killing 7-year-old Athena Strand properly. The suit also involves FedEx's parent company, Big Topspin.
Athena Strand disappeared from her Paradise home on Dec. 2, when an AMBER Alert was issued after her mother couldn't find her. Horner is accused of kidnapping the girl and killing her within about an hour of delivering a package to the home.
According to the lawsuit, Athena Strand was playing in the front yard when Horner came to deliver the package. The court document states that Horner hit Athena Strand with his delivery truck. The lawsuit states that at some point Athena Strand entered the van.
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After being arrested, Horner told police that Athena Strand was not seriously injured during the delivery, according to the lawsuit. Horner said he was worried that Athena Strand would report that she had been hit with a FedEx van. The court document states that Horner told police that he attempted to break Athena Strand's neck before strangling her to death.
According to the lawsuit, Horner then drove the girl's body in the truck and dumped her body in a remote area. The court document states that Horner told police he killed the girl so that she wouldn't tell her dad that she had been hit by the FedEx vehicle.
“FedEx Ground retains significant control over the specific manner in which Big Topspin and its employees and contractors deliver FedEx Ground packages and maintains significant control over Big Topspin and its employees,” the lawsuit states, adding that FedEx drivers in recent years have committed “numerous assaults, rapes and murders of persons across the country," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit is seeking more than $1 million in damages.