After delivering a box to the house of the 7-year-old child’s family, a man admitted to the kidnapping and murder of the young girl. Investigators said she passed away an hour after the kidnapping, and they identified the suspect as a FedEx contractor.
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Athena Strand was abducted by FedEx driver Tanner Lynn Horner, 31, after he delivered a box to her family’s residence, and her body was later discovered in Boyd, Texas. In a press conference on Friday, Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin stated that Horner was not a member of the family and did not know them directly. According to ABC News, deputies claimed it was unclear throughout the investigation whether Horner had a past criminal history.
In response to the tragic case, FedEx released a statement and expressed their condolences to Strand’s family. “Words cannot describe our shock and sorrow at the reports surrounding this tragic event. First and foremost, our thoughts are with the family during this most difficult time, and we continue to cooperate fully with the investigating authorities. At this time, any further questions should be directed to law enforcement,” the statement reads.
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BREAKING:
Authorities searched the work truck of 31yo Fed Ex Driver Tanner Horner & arrested him in the abduction & murder of missing 7yo Athena Strand. (Video: Bobby Dean) @wfaa @HowertonNews @WFAAJayWallis @adealbaWFAA pic.twitter.com/R0NIa1i6f9— Scoop Jefferson (@scoopjefferson) December 3, 2022
Investigators said the FedEx driver didn’t have any criminal history but social media slueths said he has an alleged past of sexually assaulting minors
Although investigators said Horner did not have a criminal history, social media slueths discovered that one of his alleged victims were sexually assaulted by him when she was a minor.
Holy shit, the FedEx driver who is charged with the murder of 7 yr old Athena Strand had “no criminal history” according to police- but they failed to mention that multiple women had accused him of rape when they were underage but weren’t believed
— AJF (@AJ_F612) December 3, 2022
One of the victims wrote on Facebook, “Tanner Lynn Horner, the man who raped me at 16, 8 years ago, murdered Athena Strand, a 7
year old girl. I hope the family gets the justice they deserve. I
hope he rots. And I hope that everyone who didn’t believe me, when I’ve talked about this for EIGHT F8CKING YEARS, does now. F*ck ALL of you.”
FedEx was also accused of failing to file a background check since Horner was hired as a contractor instead of an employee.
What the hell is going on in this country ? You can not trust a fedex delivery person the criminal who murdered the 7 years old worked as a contractor how do they hire these people ?FedEx employees used to be special I don’t generalise but something is seriously wrong here #Texas
— Layla Abouzaid (@layla_abouzaid) December 4, 2022
@FedEx Hey maybe you should stop outsourcing drivers and care who is driving your trucks so maybe a 7 year old somewhere else will not suffer like #AthenaStrand did. DO BETTER, cheaper is not always better!
— Dylan Ellis (@DylanEl04599807) December 3, 2022
Horner was arrested and charged with capital murder and aggravated kidnapping. The Lake Worth resident is being held on a $1.5 million bond. Akin added that FedEx assisted with the investigation using digital evidence.