FedEx Driver Pleads Guilty to Killing 7-Year-Old

0:00On April 7th, a FedEx driver in Texas just pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping of a seven-year-old girl named Athena Strand. Tanner Horner, 34 years old, admitted to the crimes right before his trial kicked off this week. This all went down back on November 30th, 2022, when he was making a delivery to her family's home in North Texas. Earlier this week, Horner changed his plea from not guilty, shocking everyone in the courtroom. He claimed he accidentally hid Athena with his truck during the delivery, panicked, put her in his vehicle, strangled her inside, and dumped her body. Seven miles away along a rural road. Cops found her two days later, and he got arrested that same day. The case ripped through the community, leaving folks heartbroken over the loss of such a young life. Athena's family has been pushing for justice ever since, and under Texas law, this capital murder charge on a kid under 10 means Horner faces either. Death or life without parole, no middle ground.

1:00Now it's headed to the punishment phase, where a jury decides his fate. His lawyers are fighting hard, arguing his autism diagnosis should block the death penalty. Plus, he's got older charges from 2013 for sexually assaulting a child in four-worth. Meanwhile, the whole story is still unfolding as that jury weighs the options. Stay tuned for what comes next in this tough case.