Horner's Trial: Jury Weighs Death Penalty

0:00On April 10, Tanner Horner, a 34-year-old former FedEx driver, is in the middle of a sentencing trial in Texas for strangling, seven-year-old Athena Strand, back on November 30, 2022. He abducted her right outside her home and paradise, while dropping off Christmas toys, then killed her inside his truck. He pleaded guilty to Capitol Murder just before the trial started, so now jurors have to decide if he gets life or the death penalty. On Friday, the fourth day of the trial, things got so graphic that NBC Dallas Fort Worth had to pause their live stream. Prosecutors showed jurors' images from inside Horner's truck, including straps like bungee cords and ropes, plus audio and video clips from the hour-long recording of the strangling. They warned everyone up front it'd be brutal, like hearing what a 250-pound man does to a 67-pound child. Tanner sat there closing his eyes and bowing his head as the evidence played out. A crime scene investigator testified about massive bodily fluids cleaned from the truck,

1:03likely from the murder, and marks on Athena's face matching. The truck floor, when they found her body, dumped in a wooded area. Earlier testimony revealed, Horner tried bargaining with cops after his arrest, asking for a month with his family for Christmas in exchange for, spilling everything, even offering to wear a monitor. He also blamed an alter ego named Zero for the killing, saying he blacked out and watched from the backseat during the whole thing. The trial keeps rolling with more details coming out, as jurors' way, whether this horror deserves the ultimate punishment. Stay tuned for what they decide next.