LIVE | Tanner Horner Trial Day 2: Jury expected to be shown interrogation video

FORT WORTH, Texas - After a shocking guilty plea on Tuesday, the punishment phase for Tanner Horner will continue Wednesday morning.

Horner pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping in the 2022 death of 7-year-old Athena Strand.

Horner, a former delivery driver, took Strand into his van and strangled her while delivering a package to her home on Nov. 30, 2022.

The jury will decide if Horner will receive the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

FOX 4 will have gavel-to-gavel coverage of the trial.

Live Updates

10:30 a.m. Morning break

The trial is in recess until 10:35 a.m.

9:32 a.m. Texas Ranger testifies

Jurors are now hearing from Texas Ranger Job Espinoza, who is actually the brother of the first witness. He was on the case as part of the assisting agencies called in to help the Wise County Sheriff's Office.

He talked about arriving at the scene shortly after Horner was arrested. He said a SWAT team was simultaneously making entry into Horner's home. At that time, he still believed Athena could be alive.

"It was pretty much, 'Let me know if she's in there or not,'" he said. "Same thing with the detention of him. 'Let me know if she's in the truck.'"

Espinoza also interrogated Horner after he was arrested. He said his first question was, "Where's she at?" His second question was, "Is she alive?"

The Texas Ranger said Horner told him he could show him where she was and that she was not alive when he put her in the truck. Espinosa said he'd already seen a dash camera video clip of her alive in the truck.

"I immediately knew that was a lie," he said.

Espinoza said Horner ended up leading investigators to the place where he said they'd find Athena's body. They did not find her at that time.

9:10 a.m. Game Warden testifies

Texas Game Warden Joshua Espinoza was the first to testify on Wednesday. He talked about being called in to help find Athena and then making a felony traffic stop to arrest Horner along with the Wise County Sheriff's Office. He said Horner did not resist the arrest.

Espinoza said he's been a part of many body recoveries, but this one was different for him.

"It was completely different because this was murder, not just an accident," he said.

9 a.m. Video redactions

Judge George Gallager agreed to redact portions of video that will be shown in court on Wednesday that show Athena's nude body after it was found.

Day One Recap

What Happened:

The long-awaited trial opened on Tuesday with the shocking news that Horner pleaded guilty.

During opening statements, the lead prosecutor told the jury to "buckle up" for what will be disturbing evidence. He accused Horner of lying about everything, except the fact that he killed Athena. He said the story Horner told investigators about hitting Athena with his delivery truck is untrue.

The prosecution says audio from Horner's van captures interactions with the 7-year-old.

"First thing Tanner Horner says to Athena when he picks her up. Puts her in that truck, leans down, and he says, don't scream or I'll hurt you," said prosecutor James Stainton. "I’m going to tell you right now. One thing you’re going to hear that is something you can’t unhear is the level of fight that a seven-year-old girl has. When she’s facing down a certain death. We talk about Warrior in America. I’ll tell you that little girl right there is a Warrior. She fought with the strength of 100 men."

The prosecution claims they have DNA evidence from Horner underneath Strand's fingernails and "places where you shouldn't find DNA." 

The defense did not argue that Horner is innocent, but argued against the death penalty.

Lawyers told the jury that Horner has Asperger's, that his mother drank while pregnant and that he was exposed to lead as a child.

"Tanner unfortunately also suffered various mental illnesses throughout his life. He’s been diagnosed and received treatment for and some of those are ongoing. You’ll hear about those issues," said defense attorney Steven Goble.

Athena's teacher, stepmother and members of law enforcement also took the stand.

The state presented evidence that shows Athena inside Horner's delivery truck on the day that she disappeared. Her stepmother told jurors that there was no reason for her to be in that truck, and she did not have permission to be in the truck.

In the photo, Athena appears alert and unharmed, contradicting Horner's claims that he accidentally hit her with his truck and then killed her in a panic.

Former Wise County sheriff Lane Akin testified that Athena's nude body was found in an area of the Trinity River called Bobo Crossing, which is about 13 miles away from her home by car. 

FBI Special Agent Patrick McGuire was the final witness to take the stand on Tuesday. He talked about his initial interviews with Horner and then later obtained dash camera video from Horner's truck, which showed him placing a small girl into the back of his FedEx van.

Athena Strand’s Death

The backstory:

Horner was charged with capital murder for the death of 7-year-old Athena Strand outside her family’s Wise County home on Nov. 30, 2022.

A contract delivery driver working for FedEx at the time, Horner was delivering what was meant to be a Christmas present for the young girl.

Horner told investigators he accidentally hit Athena with his van while delivering a package to her home. She reportedly survived, but Horner told authorities he panicked and kidnapped her, later strangling her to death.

Athena was reported missing, and eventually an Amber Alert was issued, leading to 72 hours of searching. She was found dead in Boyd, Texas, not far from her family's home.

Athena Alert

The Impact:

After Athena Strand's case, Texas Legislators passed a new bill that created a version of an Amber Alert known as the ‘Athena Alert.’

The new law allows authorities to issue an Amber Alert for a missing child that doesn’t have to meet all of the initial criteria.

Under the Athena Alert law, an Amber Alert can still go out even though authorities haven’t confirmed a missing child was kidnapped.

The alert would be able to be sent out to a 100-mile area around the disappearance and adjacent counties.

DPS emphasizes that this is not a new type of alert. All alert messages will still be referenced as an Amber Alert.