2 min readUpdated: May 6, 2026 01:56 PM IST

A driver, formerly with FedEx delivery, was sentenced to death on Tuesday for kidnapping and stangulating a 7-year-old Texas girl in his van, reported the New York Times.

Thirty-four-year-old Tanner Lynn Horner kidnapped the girl, Athena Strand, on November 30, 2022, from outside her father’s home in Texas’ Paradise, authorities said. He was charged on December 3, 2022. On April 7 next year, Horner pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping.

What happened on November 30, 2022?

On the day of the incident, Horner had delivered a package containing “You can be anything” Barbies, a Christmas gift for Athena, whom he allegedly killed, the victim’s mother Maitlyn Gandy said in a statement.

Strand alighted from her school bus at 4.15 pm on that day, while her stepmother lodged her missing complaint around 6.10 pm.

A search operation was launched with several law enforcement agencies and almost 200 volunteers in action. Two days later, her body was recovered, about 6 miles away from her father’s home, stated Melody McDonald Lanier, a spokesperson for an advocate representing Athena’s mother, Maitlyn Gandy.

The investigators were tipped off that a FedEx delivery was made to the home around the same time Athena went missing. An officer at the FBI office in Dallas, said, “digital evidence and partnerships with FedEx” had helped them identify Horner.

The authorities said they received video footage of Horner inside his truck with Athena from the company providing cameras for such delivery vans.

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When approached by the law enforcement agencies, Horner confessed and said he had accidentally hit Athena with his van. He then panicked and picked her up, the district attorney, James Stainton, said during a court appearance broadcast.

The video of Horner with Athena inside the van was played for the jury.

A forensic analyst at the Texas Department of Safety, Jaqueline Ferrara, testified that male DNA was detected on Athena’s body. Semen and blood were also found on various objects belonging to Horner.

— with inputs from New York Times

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