BREAKING: FedEx Driver Who Horrifically Hit and Then Strangled 7-Year-Old Girl Sentenced

I remember covering this when it happened back in 2022 and it was one of the worst things I had ever heard.

Now somehow four years later, it’s hitting even worse now.

Just horrific, no other words to describe it.

In case you don’t remember the story, FedEx driver Tanner Horner hit a 7-year-old girl with his truck but miraculously she was ok — he then panicked, kidnapped her, and then killed her.

Oh and the box he was delivering was a Christmas present for her.

I don’t even know what to say, except I think Elon Musk summed it up nicely with “Execute him immediately.”

🚨 BREAKING: Following public calls—including from @ElonMusk—that 7-year-old Athena Strand’s kiIIer be executed, FedEx driver Tanner Horner has just been sentenced to DEATH by the State of Texas

GREAT.

Now do it PUBLICLY. Make an example out of this subhuman scumbag. pic.twitter.com/CsbteQMikA

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) May 5, 2026

And today we move one step closer to that reality, as a jury has just sentenced him to death:

BREAKING: Former FedEx driver Tanner Horner, who pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping in the death of 7-year-old Athena Strand, has been sentenced to death.

— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 5, 2026

Here are more details, from Fox News:

Tanner Horner, 34, a former delivery driver accused of kidnapping and strangling the 7-year-old after hitting her with his delivery van in 2022, was sentenced to death by a Tarrant County jury.

After 19 days of testimony, both sides rested their cases on Monday and delivered closing remarks on Tuesday morning.

In 2023, Horner admitted to abducting Strand while delivering a package to her father’s home in Paradise, a town of fewer than 500 people about 60 miles northwest of Dallas.

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Horner, authorities said, was delivering a package of Barbie dolls intended to be Strand’s Christmas present. Athena was set to return to Oklahoma with her mother after the holidays and had been staying with her father, Jacob Strand, and stepmother, Ashley Strand, in Wise County.

According to the arrest warrant, Horner told investigators that he strangled the 7-year-old after accidentally hitting her with his van while making a delivery at her father’s home. He said Strand wasn’t seriously hurt after he hit her while backing up, but he panicked and put her in his van.

One of the worst things I have ever covered here.

Glad to see some small amount of justice finally coming through.