TX - Athena Strand, 8, Abducted & Murdered By FedEx Contract Driver, Tanner Horner, Paradise, 2022 #2

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insearchoflight

insearchoflight

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There’s surely footage that is unthinkable from the FedEx camera. It caught him taking the child into the truck and talking with her in the truck. It had to have captured more of this crime. Unimaginable. And the gift delivered, was for her?!! Oh man I need a break from this reality it’s all too much
 
rsd1200

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I'm waiting for the autopsy. The way this reads is that he may have struck her with his van, on her parents' property, since he had just delivered a package there. Afterward, instead of getting help, he apparently speaks to her, as is seen on the van camera. Then goes on to murder the child. It doesn't sound as if he left the property until after he'd killed her. If he'd planned to kidnap her, It makes no sense in our world. Wouldn't he know there was a camera in the van? Surely they go over this in training. He seemed immature in his social media posts. He sort of reminds me of the case of the nurse, who hit a homeless man several years back. I couldn't imagine then, doing something like she did, nor in this case, but, some folks just aren't wired right.


The nurse did to try and pull the man out of her windshield, but couldn't, so, with 1/2 of him inside the car and 1/2 of him hanging out the front windshield, she drives the poor guy to her home, parks in the garage, and leaves him stuck in the windshield of the car. She went out and apologized to him, and spoke to him a few times, but never called for help. He was alert. After he died from blood loss, she got a couple of friends to help her move his body to a park. I don't think she really gave an explanation, but losing her job as a nurse for driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and running down a pedestrian, might have been a factor. She'd been using alcohol and a variety of party drugs when she hit him. I've never forgotten that case. I could not imagine how that poor man felt. Trapped and dying. He'd have likely lived had she gotten him some medical assistance. She was in the medical field and rendered no aid. People do things that defy all logic sometimes.

I looked for links about the nurse, to compare it to this man's reasoning, and found that they're still out there. It's as crazy as this guy's story. She'll be eligible for parole in six years. Either way, this fella still murdered a seven-year-old child with his bare hands, and he admitted to doing so. I'd hate to be chosen as his attorney.

Sorry for such a long post.

www.foxnews.com

Timeline of Events in the Chante Mallard Windshield Death Case

Timeline of Events in the Chante Mallard Windshield Death Case.
www.foxnews.com www.foxnews.com
 
JudgeJudi

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Court documents released this week revealed grisly new details in the case against Tanner Lynn Horner, the 31-year-old FedEx driver accused of killing 7-year-old Athena Strand last week.

He allegedly confessed to accidentally hitting her with his truck after delivering a package to her home.

The affidavit stated that when he was backing up in his Fed Ex truck he accidentally hit Athena with the truck, but she was not seriously injured, panicked and put her in the van. She was alive at that time, talking to him, and told him her name was Athena. He attempted to break her neck to kill her. When this didn't work, he strangled with his bare hands in the back of the Fed Ex van.

He allegedly told investigators multiple times that the reason he kidnapped and strangled her to death was his belief that “she was going to tell her father about being hit by the FedEx truck he was operating.” It is believed that the victim died within one hour of being hit by the truck.

FedEx Driver Strangled 7-Year-Old Girl 'with His Bare Hands' in the Back of Delivery Van After Attempts to Break Her Neck Failed: Affidavit

What a shocking way to die. I feel incredibly sorry for her family and can't begin to imagine their grief at losing such a beautiful little child.
 
katydid23

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If I backed my work truck into a child, and then found they were NOT HURT---I'd be elated. It would be a wonderful thing, and even if her father was told that I backed up and hit her accidentally, I don't think anything really bad what happen from it. It was an accident, she was not hurt and we both learned a scary lesson from it, life goes on.

How does it go from ^^ that to " I think I'll try to snap this child's neck?' I don't believe his story for a second. If he hit her with his truck, he did so on purpose, IMO.
 
rsd1200

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katydid23 said:
If I backed my work truck into a child, and then found they were NOT HURT---I'd be elated. It would be a wonderful thing, and even if her father was told that I backed up and hit her accidentally, I don't think anything really bad what happen from it. It was an accident, she was not hurt and we both learned a scary lesson from it, life goes on.

How does it go from ^^ that to " I think I'll try to snap this child's neck?' I don't believe his story for a second. If he hit her with his truck, he did so on purpose, IMO.
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Not if her father was told, but when her father was told. You can't hit a child with a van, see that she's speaking and knows her name, and drive away happy that she's alive. That child will tell her parents. Even if she was not badly injured, she'd be bruised, a broken bone, or some sign of the incident (I would think). Small child vs big rolling van.

A responsible, intelligent, adult, calls 911, has the child lay still until they arrive, and does not move her. Since she was alert and knew her name, he could have even asked if she knew her parents' phone number and called them to come down the drive, because there'd been an accident. There's a good chance it will be all over the news, he will lose his job, IF he was under the influence of anything, probably lose his license, and jail time is a real possibility. All a terrible outcome, for HIM. So, he makes a conscious decision to kill her, in an effort to hide what he'd done. If he put her in water, it's most likely an attempt to wash away evidence, so I feel he was conscious of his actions, and that it wasn't a psychotic break of some sort. He needs never be free again. His own child is probably lucky to be alive, with logic like his.
 
Chelly

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The arrest warrant states that he claims he hit her with his Fedex truck.
And, he claims Athena said she'd tell her father, so he claims he had to kill her.
I don't believe him.

ETA: He is blaming his victim...
 
Chelly

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rsd1200

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Chelly said:
The arrest warrant states that he claims he hit her with his Fedex truck.
And, he claims Athena said she'd tell her father, so he claims he had to kill her.
I don't believe him.

ETA: He is blaming his victim...
Click to expand...

Of course he is blaming the victim. It's all about him and how it's affecting him. It's also very possible he's substituting "hit her with my van" for "I'm a big ole <modsnip - derogatory term", so I had to murder the child, and dump her body in the creek because she said she was going to tell her father on me. Part truth part lies. Was he hopeful the creek would wash away fingerprints/dna?

Lies or not, he's still a disgusting, demented, murderer. I don't see how he could ever be eligible to be free again. The ONLY reason, I think he may have hit her accidentally, is b/c she was roaming around outside and may have run up to the truck, excited about packages being delivered, and he admits to murdering the child. Poor little soul.
 
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Chelly

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rsd1200 said:
Of course he is blaming the victim. It's all about him and how it's affecting him. It's also very possible he's substituting "hit her with my van" for "I'm a big ole <modsnip>", so I had to murder the child, and dump her body in the creek because she said she was going to tell her father on me. Part truth part lies. Was he hopeful the creek would wash away fingerprints/dna?

Lies or not, he's still a disgusting, demented, murderer. I don't see how he could ever be eligible to be free again. The ONLY reason, I think he may have hit her accidentally, is b/c she was roaming around outside and may have run up to the truck, excited about packages being delivered, and he admits to murdering the child. Poor little soul.
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He is disgusting. Looking forward to autopsy report.
 
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x_files

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kikukohime said:
Running over a mailbox in the course of carrying out work, isn't really the same as murdering a child.
If the mother goes the route of suing, she'd probably get an out of court settlement just to shut up the jabbering on social media, rather than out of any kind of legit guilt. Which is a net negative for society, honestly.
Unless, he ran her over and then took her to dispose of her....


TBH, I'm not sold that he actually intended to kidnap her. The swiftness of her death from leaving the home is kind of strange. It's exceptionally quick.
I also don't like the speed in which the sheriff has announced things as if it's a foregone conclusion that he's guilty.
I know this is America and this is Texas, but still, this kind of weighted guilt bias would result in an inquest in many other countries.
A rape allegation on FB (as common as mud) and a few bad songs on YT is sadly not enough for me to deem him a monster.
I hope they have a great case, but I really don't like how the sheriff is bending public opinion before a trial. Seems like he's seasoning.
Click to expand...

Children that are victims of kidnapping/sexual are often killed within a few hours.

"Acting quickly is critical. Seventy-four percent of abducted children who are ultimately murdered are dead within three hours of the abduction."

www.parents.com

Child Abduction Statistics for Parents

Facts and important information about kidnappings in the U.S.
www.parents.com www.parents.com
 
evelezrn

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Chelly said:
He is disgusting. Looking forward to autopsy report.
Click to expand...
Me too.

I'm hoping the autopsy will be released to the public.

In the Rhoden case in Ohio, the autopsies were not made available to the public at first. After much pressure by the media, the autopsies were finally released. However, they were so heavily redacted that you could not really see any details.

Hopefully in this case, the autopsy will be released. (Not that I'm looking forward to reading it).

JMO
 
x_files

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iamshadow21 said:
Sounds like it was temporary and due to renovations on the main house. Which is good, because my mind was going to some very Cinderella places for a moment. I imagine there was dust, paint fumes, or danger related to tools or partially finished work that made the outbuilding a safer option for the time being.
Click to expand...

Did anyone see photos of the storage shed? It might be a converted "tiny house" that is popular now.
 
Chelly

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evelezrn said:
Me too.

I'm hoping the autopsy will be released to the public.

In the Rhoden case in Ohio, the autopsies were not made available to the public at first. After much pressure by the media, the autopsies were finally released. However, they were so heavily redacted that you could not really see any details.

Hopefully in this case, the autopsy will be released. (Not that I'm looking forward to reading it).

JMO
Click to expand...
In light of his confession, I think autopsy will be released. Maybe he's of the belief LE will go easy on him because he was compliant when taken into custody, admitted to the killing, and disclosed location of body.
 
x_files

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iamshadow21 said:
Sounds like it was temporary and due to renovations on the main house. Which is good, because my mind was going to some very Cinderella places for a moment. I imagine there was dust, paint fumes, or danger related to tools or partially finished work that made the outbuilding a safer option for the time being.
Click to expand...

Did anyone see photos of the storage shed? It might be a converted "tiny house" that is popular now.
Chelly said:
I tend not to believe his story. Even though he as admitted to killing her, I think there is be a big puzzle piece missing. His statement seems to defy logic.
Click to expand...
My belief is lured her into the van with the promise of a package for her, it did "accidentally" on purpose bump her and used it as an excuse to kidnap and assault her.
He doesn't want to admit he SA her. Although I hope she wasn't assaulted in that manner. Disgusting.
 
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