Mother's Testimony in Tanner Horner's Sentencing

0:00It's April 24th. Welcome in. This is Entertainment in celebrity news, where pop culture meets AI. I'm Cory with the story. In the sentencing phase of Tanner Horner's Capitol murder trial, his mother took the stand in a packed Wise County courtroom. The former FedEx driver confessed to kidnapping and killing seven-year-old Athena Strand back in 2022 while on a delivery. Now he's staring down life in prison or the death penalty. She described noticing early signs that he stood off from other kids. With intense meltdowns, she first chalked up to Tandrums. School bullying made it worse, leading him to hurt himself but never others. Doctors pushed ADHD labels and meds, but she insisted they missed the real issue, saying the treatments just altered his personality. Her own story paints a rough picture too. She dropped out around 9th grade, battled addiction for years and endured abuse from her stepfather, starting at age 4. She met Horner's late father at 17, and their first night together turned violent when he assaulted her.

1:00Up there crying, she admitted raw anger toward her son for what he did to that little girl, calling her just a baby, though she still loves him but. Hates the monster who committed the crime. Prosecutors laid out how he snatched Athena during a Christmas package drop off, killed her with blunt force, strangulation, and smothering then. Come to her body in a creek, forensics match vehicle marks on her face and found other trauma, as the jury weighs his fate.