Horner's Fate: Jury Weighs Life or Death

0:00It's April 20th. This is Dallas News Today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story. Jurors in the Tanner Horner death penalty trial get Monday and Tuesday off while his defense team preps expert witnesses. Horner, a former delivery driver, pleaded guilty to kidnapping and capital murder in the 2022 death of seven-year-old Athena Strand. He snatched her from her wise county home during a package drop, then killed her. Now the jury decides between death or life without parole. The state wrapped his case last Thursday with tough evidence, including videos of Horner cleaning his truck after the crime, and his odd behavior, the next day. Defense kicks off Wednesday morning, planning to highlight his assburgers diagnosis, other mental health issues, fetal alcohol exposure and childhood, let poisoning to argue for mercy. Athena's mom took the stand, vowing to keep her daughter's memory alive as a real person, not just news. Family members walked out before graphic videos played, and some jurors teared up during

1:02the silent courtroom moments, showing the girl's final, struggle. Key evidence included DNA linking Horner to the sexual assault kit, blood under her nails, and an autopsy confirming she died from blunt force trauma. Smothering and strangulation, the medical examiner said she suffered. Jail letters and calls revealed Horner's shifting stories from mental breakdowns to blaming an alter ego called zero. This tragedy sparked the Athena Alert in Texas, easing amber alert rules for quicker kit searches in a wider area, as the defense builds its case that jury holds the final call on Horner's fate.