NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Haunting body camera footage of a former FedEx delivery driver who pleaded guilty to killing a young girl showed him flipping between alter ego personalities as it was played in a Texas courtroom<\/a> Thursday as jurors weigh whether he will receive the death penalty.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tanner Horner, 34, pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and murder of 7-year-old Athena Strand in a Fort Worth courtroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jurors are now being shown body camera footage and additional evidence to determine if Horner will receive the death penalty or life in prison without parole.\u00a0<\/p>\n On Thursday, jurors were shown footage of authorities confronting Horner about where he disposed of Athena\u2019s clothing following her death on Nov. 30, 2022.<\/p>\n ATHENA STRAND\u2019S KILLER FEDEX DRIVER TOLD POLICE HE \u2018KIND OF TOSSED\u2019 7-YEAR-OLD\u2019S BODY INTO WOODS, VIDEO SHOWS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n A newly released photo shows seven-year-old Athena Strand shortly before prosecutors say she was abducted and killed by a FedEx driver delivering her Christmas present.<\/span> (POOL via KDFW-TV)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “Are you saying you stripped her naked and threw her clothes out the window on the highway?” the officer can be heard asking.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I thought it was funny,” Horner replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Did you take all her clothes off of her? Shirts, pants, panties \u2013 everything?” the officer asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Mm-hmm,” Horner said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The officers<\/a> then shift to addressing Horner\u2019s alter ego, “Zero.”\u00a0<\/p>\n “Hey Zero, when you took her, was she wearing a jacket or anything?” the officer said.\u00a0<\/p>\n “No jacket, no shoes,” Horner, speaking as Zero, replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n ATHENA STRAND PHOTO SHOWS DEADLY RIDE WITH FEDEX DRIVER WHO ADMITTED KILLING GIRL DURING CHRISTMAS DELIVERY<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Athena Strand, 7, was allegedly kidnapped and murdered by 30-year-old FedEx delivery driver Tanner Lynn Horner. Strand’s father is suing Horner, FedEx and the contractor that hired him.<\/span> (Wise County Sheriff’s Office)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Authorities continued to push Horner for more details about Athena\u2019s abduction, asking if the girl told him she did not want to get into his car.\u00a0<\/p>\n In response, Horner informed them he told Athena, “We\u2019re going on a ride.”\u00a0<\/p>\n “She was trying to fight you when you told her you were going on a ride?” the officer asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n “No,” Horner replied as he mumbled details about what Athena had said to him.\u00a0<\/p>\n The officers then attempted to get more details from Horner, who appeared to be speaking to them as his alter ego.\u00a0<\/p>\n MAN CONFESSES TO KILLING 7-YEAR-OLD WHILE ON THE LAM AFTER DNA LINKS HIM TO 30-YEAR COLD CASE: AUTHORITIES<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Jurors were shown an interrogation video of Tanner Horner telling investigators that he “just kind of tossed” 7-year-old Athena Strand after kidnapping her.<\/span> (KDFW-TV)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “So did you hit her before you dropped the package? I\u2019m sorry, did Tanner hit her before the package was dropped off, or after?” the officer asked, before shifting to address Horner as Zero.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Do you want to talk to him?” Horner replied, referring to himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n “No, I want to talk to Zero. I want to talk to you. Because you\u2019re being more honest, you\u2019re more helpful,” the officer said.\u00a0<\/p>\n While on the stand, Texas Ranger Job Espinoza, the lead investigator who was with Horner when Athena’s body was located and interrogated him after his arrest, testified that Horner told him Athena\u2019s underwear was still on her body, according to<\/u><\/a> FOX 4.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, Espinoza told the courtroom he knew the claim was untrue because Athena\u2019s body was nude when her remains were discovered by authorities.<\/p>\n Athena’s stepmother, Ashley Strand, testified on Tuesday, April 7 about their family’s home in the small city of Paradise, in Wise County. She said they lived in a rural area that didn’t get much traffic.<\/span> (POOL via KDFW-TV)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Espinoza then added that Horner allegedly admitted to taking Athena\u2019s pants and placing them inside a backpack thrown in the trash at his house. Investigators later found some articles of Athena\u2019s clothing inside Horner\u2019s home.\u00a0<\/p>\n Upon being asked if there was any evidence that Athena\u2019s clothes were thrown on the highway, Espinoza denied the claim.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Based on the course of this investigation<\/a>, I knew that was a lie,” Espinoza said.\u00a0<\/p>\n In his earlier testimony on Thursday morning, Espinoza told Wise County District Attorney James Stainton that Horner had been untruthful throughout the investigative process.\u00a0<\/p>\n “At this point, other than telling you where Athena was located, is there anything else truthful that Tanner Horner has told you?” Stainton asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n During a press conference at the Wise County Courthouse in Decatur, Texas, on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022, Maitlyn Gandy presented the box that was delivered on the day Athena Strand, 7, was abducted in rural Paradise, Texas. Inside was a Christmas present for Strand.<\/span> (Amanda McCoy\/Star-Telegram\/AP)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “No sir,” Espinoza answered.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Up until this point, how many different versions has Tanner Horner told you of how things went down at Athena’s residence?” Stainton replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n “He’s given me numerous different versions of how the events of that day transpired,” Espinoza said.<\/p>\n In an interrogation video<\/a> shown Thursday, Horner asked investigators to release him from jail for about a month so he could spend Christmas with his family, while promising to provide the details of his crime if they agreed.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Did you know what you did was wrong?” Espinoza asked him, according to FOX 4.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Of course,” Horner said. “I haven’t been on that medicine for five days, and it’s starting to wear off. I’ve actually been crying. Do you know what it’s like, not being able to cry for months and months and months?”<\/p>\n Espinoza then asked if Horner was remorseful for what he did to the young girl.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I\u2019m a father,” Horner said as he grew emotional. “All I want is to spend one last Christmas with my son, and I\u2019ll tell you everything.”<\/p>\n FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Horner initially claimed he accidentally struck Athena with his delivery truck, but later admitted to abducting and strangling her while delivering a package<\/a> to her father\u2019s home in November 2022 in Paradise, Texas<\/a>.<\/p>\n He previously said he “kind of tossed<\/a>” the young girl into the woods after killing her, according to an interrogation video shown to jurors.<\/p>\n SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Prosecutors have aimed to paint Horner as a violent and calculating killer.\u00a0<\/p>\n “First thing Tanner Horner says to Athena when he picks her up, puts her in that truck, leans down, and he says, \u2018Don\u2019t scream or I\u2019ll hurt you,\u2019” Stainton told jurors in opening statements Tuesday.<\/p>\n SEND US A TIP HERE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n “I\u2019m going to tell you right now. One thing you\u2019re going to hear that is something you can\u2019t unhear is the level of fight that a 7-year-old girl has. When she\u2019s facing down a certain death.”<\/p>\n Stainton also revealed Horner may have sexually assaulted the young girl after her abduction.<\/p>\n LISTEN TO THE NEW ‘CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO’ PODCAST<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n “We have DNA. Not only do we have initial DNA from Athena<\/a> that has Tanner Horner\u2019s DNA under her fingernails. We also have Tanner Horner\u2019s DNA in places where you shouldn\u2019t find DNA on a 7-year-old girl,” Stainton said in court.<\/p>\n Prosecutors have pointed to evidence showing Horner covered a camera inside his FedEx truck, threatened Athena and carried out an extensive attack before disposing of her body in a wooded area near Boyd, Texas.<\/p>\n LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? FIND MORE ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Horner then allegedly returned to work to continue delivering packages as authorities launched a desperate search for the missing child. Her body was discovered three days later.\u00a0<\/p>\n Defense attorney Lindsay Thompson pointed to Horner suffering from brain damage, mental illness and extreme lead exposure \u2013 while mentioning his autism diagnosis.<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Thompson added that Horner should be spared from the death penalty because he had accepted responsibility by pleading guilty.\u00a0<\/p>\n Authorities have revealed Horner was delivering a package of Barbie dolls<\/a> meant to be a Christmas gift for Athena when he abducted and killed her.<\/p>\n Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"Athena](\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1200\/675\/Athena-Strand-01.jpeg?ve=1&tl=1\")
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