The FedEx driver that killed seven-year-old Athena Strand after he hit her with his truck by accident, has been charged with a rape he allegedly performed in 2013.
Athena Strand was in the driveway of her dad and stepmother’s home in Paradise, Texas on November 30 when she was abducted and murdered by a FedEx delivery man after he accidentally hit her with his truck after delivering a package to the home. Two days later, the child’s body was found in the Trinity River in the nearby city of Boyd.
The child was staying at her father’s home temporarily. Her stepmother was in the house and her dad was away on a trip.
The suspect, 31-year-old Tanner Horner, admitted to his crimes. He said that he hit the girl with his truck, panicked and then strangled her to death inside the truck instead of reporting the accident because he was afraid of the consequences.
Tragically, Horner was delivering a “You Can Be Anything” Barbie doll package from Athena’s biological mother, Maitland Gandy, who said that the dolls were her Christmas gift. Gandy emotionally added that she was planning to bring the girl back to her house for the holidays, but she will be bringing home her urn instead.
Jacob Strand, Athena’s father, filed a negligence lawsuit against FedEx and Big Topspin on December 13. Big Topspin was the contracting company used to deliver packages for FedEx.
Horner was charged with capital murder and kidnapping.
In addition to the murder charges, Horner now has been charged with sexual assault due to a complaint regarding a prior unrelated incident. A woman, who spoke about it after Horner’s arrest, said that Horner raped her around nine years ago, in 2013.
The young woman, named Shay Marie, claimed in several social media posts in 2018 and 2019 that Horner molested her when she was 16 years old. She recalled that “December 6 and 7 marks seven years since you violated me and treated me like you were entitled to my body.” Horner was 23 at the time.
Jail records show that Horner is now also facing three counts of sexual assault of a child under 17 carrying bonds of $15,000 each. Horner is detained in the Wise County Jail and held on bonds that total $1,545,000.