FedEx Driver's Panic Kills Girl, Trial Shifts to Sentencing

0:00On April 9th, a FedEx driver named Tanner Horner confessed to killing seven-year-old Athena Strand right outside her Texas home in November 20. 22. He was dropping off a box of Barbie dolls meant as her Christmas gift when he accidentally backed into her with his van. Panicking, he put her inside. Told her they were heading to the hospital, then strangled her to death. During police questioning, the 34-year-old claimed an alter ego called zero took over and did the killing. He said he tried to stop it, but couldn't. Even describing how his eyes rolled back as this other side emerged. Investigators captured audio of her final moments from a mic in his truck after he covered the camera. Athena's stepmother shared have a girl loved running free on their rural land and that those Barbies were picked just for her dreams of being. Anything, the family has been shattered with the stepmom now divorced from Athena's dad. Meanwhile, Horner's lore admitted the evidence is overwhelming, but pointed to his autism, mental illnesses, fetal alcohol exposure, and lead, poisoning as

1:04reasons for mercy. This week, Horner suddenly pleaded guilty to capital murder after his trial began, shifting focus to sentencing where jurors decide life in prison or death. The case moved from Wise County to Fort Worth for fairness, and they've seen a rest footage plus where he dumped her body. Jurors still faced tough graphic details to weigh his punishment, highlighting how one split-second panic spiraled into tragedy for everyone involved.