Change of venue sought for Tanner Horner, FedEx driver indicted in Athena Strand killing

Attorneys for Tanner Horner, the FedEx driver indicted on capital murder and kidnapping charges in the killing of 7-year-old Athena Strand, have filed a motion to move Horner’s trial out of Wise County, according to court documents.

The motion, which was filed in Decatur on Aug. 28, cites “pre-trial publicity” as a barrier to Horner receiving a fair trial in Wise County. A court hearing regarding the motion to move Horner’s trial has been scheduled for Monday.

“The State is seeking to impose the death penalty should Mr. Horner be found guilty after a trial on the merits,” the motion states. “As such, the Eighth Amendment demands a greater degree of accuracy and procedural safeguards than would be required in a noncapital case.”

The motion was accompanied by several exhibits, including the number of media stories that dealt with Athena’s killing and statements from three Wise County residents confirming the widespread public knowledge surrounding the case.

Horner, a FedEx contract driver, delivered a Christmas gift of Barbies intended for Athena to her father’s home near the Wise County town of Paradise on Nov. 30, 2022. The 7-year-old went missing at the time of the delivery, and her body was found two days later at a site along the Trinity River, less than 10 miles from the house.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Horner confessed to authorities and said that he backed into Athena with his FedEx truck. She wasn’t seriously hurt, but he kidnapped her, strangled her and killed her so she couldn’t tell her father about the accident, he said.

A Wise County grand jury indicted Horner in February 2023 on charges of aggravated kidnapping and capital murder of a child. The next day prosecutors with the Wise County District Attorney’s Office filed notice with the 271st District Court that they intend to seek the death penalty for Horner if he’s convicted of capital murder at trial.

On March 6, 2023, Horner pleaded not guilty at his arraignment hearing in Wise County.

Technicalities have since slowed the case, which was temporarily paused for a time over the question of who should represent Horner at his trial, according to the Wise County Messenger. In July 2023, a district judge in Wise County ruled to remove Horner’s court-appointed attorneys, Bill Ray and Steven Gordon, and replace them with lawyers from the Regional Public Defender’s Office, according to court documents. The ruling resulted from the judge learning that the public defender’s office has a contract with Wise County to represent capital murder defendants.

In January, Horner’s attorneys filed a motion to transfer him from the Wise County Jail to another facility and named Tarrant County as a possible location.

Horner remains in the Wise County Jail, and a trial date has not been announced.

🚨 More top stories from our newsroom:

→ See how your school did in Fort Worth ISD A-F scores

→ Public calls for firing of officer who shot driver after hit-and-run

→ Candidates threaten to sue Tarrant County over voter access

[Get our breaking news alerts. ]