FORT WORTH, Texas – More than three years after the dying of Athena Strand, the capital homicide trial for Tanner Horner started on Tuesday with a guilty plea.
Horner, a supply driver accused of kidnapping and killing the 7-year-old after hitting her together with his van in 2022, admitted to the crime in a Tarrant County courthouse earlier than opening statements started on Tuesday morning.
The punishment part of the trial is anticipated to start instantly.
Horner nonetheless faces a attainable dying penalty sentence.
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FOX 4 will present dwell gavel-to-gavel protection from contained in the courtroom at some point of the trial.
Athena Strand’s Death
The backstory:
Horner is charged with kidnapping and strangling 7-year-old Athena Strand at her household’s Wise County residence on Nov. 30, 2022.
Horner, a contract supply driver working for FedEx on the time, was delivering what was meant to be a Christmas current for the younger lady.
Package meant for Athena Strand
Authorities stated Horner told investigators he accidentally hit Strand with his van whereas delivering a package deal to her residence. She reportedly survived, however Horner instructed authorities he panicked and kidnapped her, later strangling her to dying.
Strand was reported lacking, and ultimately an Amber Alert was issued, main to 72 hours of looking. She was discovered useless in Boyd, Texas, not removed from her household’s residence.
Tanner Horner Trial
What we all know:
Tanner Horner, 35, was charged with capital homicide of an individual below the age of 10 and aggravated kidnapping. He initially pleaded not guilty to each expenses.
Now that he has pleaded guilty to each expenses, the jury should resolve on the dying penalty or life in jail.
The state is searching for the dying penalty within the case.
Pre-Trial Motions
Dig deeper:
Horner’s attorneys have filed a number of motions on his behalf, main to a number of delays.
The trial was moved to Tarrant County as a result of protection attorneys efficiently argued Horner wouldn’t get a good trial in Wise County, given the in depth media protection of the case.
In December, Horner’s protection workforce requested the decide to throw out police interviews due to a attainable violation of his Miranda Rights.
In January, Horner’s attorneys filed 28 extra motions, together with one to preclude the dying penalty as a result of they claim Horner has autism.
Tanner Horner (Source: Tarrant County Jail)
In March, Horner’s attorneys requested the decide to ban the phrases “psychopath” and “sociopath.” Their briefing states the phrases are “unreliable due to their overwhelming rate of error, and their lack of acceptance in the relevant scientific community.”
Athena Alert
Athena Strand (Courtesy: Maitlyn Gandy)
The Impact:
After Strand’s case, Texas Legislators handed a new bill that created a model of an Amber Alert often known as the ‘Athena Alert.’
The new regulation permits authorities to concern an Amber Alert for a lacking youngster that doesn’t have to meet all the preliminary standards.
Under the Athena Alert regulation, an Amber Alert can nonetheless exit though authorities haven’t confirmed a lacking youngster was kidnapped.
The alert would have the ability to be despatched out to a 100-mile space across the disappearance and adjoining counties.
DPS emphasizes that this isn’t a brand new sort of alert. All alert messages will nonetheless be referenced as an Amber Alert.
The Source: Information on this article comes from previous FOX 4 protection, Tarrant County court docket data and the Texas Legislature.
