The 31-year-old FedEx driver who is accused of murdering Athena Strand, 7, told police that he accidentally hit her with his van while dropping off a package before strangling her.
Tanner Lynn Horner said that the girl was not injured after he backed up and hit her. However, he panicked and decided to put her in his van where she talked to him and told him her name.
But when the girl said that she would tell her father about the incident, Horner broke her neck and killed her, the affidavit revealed.
The affidavit said that when Horner couldn’t break the child’s neck, he strangled her ‘with his bare hands.’
Officers identified him as the suspect after the FedEx truck delivered a package around the time the girl disappeared.
When being questioned by police, he told them what happened and said he would take them to her lifeless body.
The 31-year-old brought investigators to a body of water where the victim’s body was finally found.
According to the affidavit, there was a video camera installed in Horner’s FedEx truck and footage showed him bringing a girl into the vehicle.
“The defendant stated when he attempted to break Athena’s neck it did not work so he strangled her with his bare hands in the back of the FedEx truck,” it stated.
“During the course of the interview the Defendant again stated he strangled Athena because she was going to tell her father about being hit by the FedEx truck the Defendant was operating.”
The girl’s body was found about 15 minutes southwest of her home in Paradise, Texas.
During a news conference on Thursday, Athena’s grieving mother, Maitlyn Gandy, told how the FedEx driver was delivering a You Can Be Anything Barbie to the house.
“This package is the first time I’m seeing it,” she said of the box, explaining that it was supposed to be a Christmas gift for her daughter.
“Athena was robbed of the opportunity to grow up to be anything she wanted to be — and this present, ordered out of innocence and love, is one she will never receive.”
Horner is currently being held at the Wise County Law Enforcement Center with a bond set at $1.5 million.
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