Tanner Lynn Horner, the former FedEx driver who pleaded guilty to killing 7-year-old Athena Strand, asked investigators for time at home with his family in exchange for telling them "everything" about the crime, according to testimony and court reports in the ongoing Texas sentencing phase.
Tarrant County jurors are now deciding whether Horner should receive the death penalty or life in prison without parole after he admitted on Apr. 7, 2026, to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping in the 2022 killing.
Prosecutors have said they will present graphic video and audio evidence, while the defense has argued that Horner should be sentenced to life, according to People.
According to a recorded interview played for jurors, Horner told lead investigator Job Espinoza that he would "give [them] everything" if they let him spend a month at home so he could have Christmas with his son. The request came during a Dec. 7, 2022, interview at the Wise County Jail, about a week after Athena's body was found.
Reports said investigators did not agree to any deal and continued pressing Horner about what happened to the child.
Athena disappeared on Nov. 30, 2022, after Horner, then working as a FedEx driver, came to her home to deliver a package that contained a Christmas gift, according to court records and testimony.
Authorities said Horner told investigators he accidentally struck Athena with the delivery truck while backing up, then panicked and put her in the van before killing her because he feared she would tell her father, CNN reported.
Her body was found two days later, about 9 miles from her home, near BoBo Crossing in Wise County. Prosecutors have said Horner's actions were deliberate, pointing to evidence that he kept the same FedEx truck each day and later gave shifting accounts of his movements.
Jurors have heard testimony from family members, teachers, and law enforcement officers as the sentencing phase continues. Witnesses described the family's search for Athena, the impact of her death on classmates, and the discovery of surveillance and delivery records tied to the FedEx route.
Court reports also say prosecutors showed jurors video from inside the truck and argued that Horner's treatment of the child, who weighed 67 pounds, was especially severe. The defense has said Horner had autism, mental illness, and other developmental challenges, and has urged jurors to reject a death sentence.
Horner was indicted in February 2023 on charges of aggravated kidnapping and capital murder of a child under 10. He originally pleaded not guilty but changed his plea to guilty on Apr. 7, 2026, as per CBS News.
