Defense seeks to ban the word ‘psychopath’ in Texas trial of accused child killer
Defense attorneys who represent a man who is to go to trial in Tarrant County in seven days in the strangling of a 7-year-old girl are looking ahead to the scope of testimony in the punishment phase of the death penalty case if he is found guilty.
In a motion filed last week, the office of the regional public defender for capital cases asked Judge George Gallagher to order that experts refrain from using two terms, psychopath and sociopath, in reference to the defendant, Tanner Horner, who is accused of killing Athena Strand inside his FedEx truck in Wise County.
The motion asks Judge Gallagher to exclude in the punishment phase “any and all psychiatric or psychological expert testimony offered by the state that incorporates a prediction” on whether Horner is a future danger or will constitute a continuing threat to society, attorneys Susan Anderson and Steven Goble wrote in the motion. Future dangerousness is one of two questions at the core of sentencing in death penalty cases.
The defense appears to anticipate that state prosecutors may call witnesses to offer psychiatric predictions.
If it finds Horner guilty of capital murder, the jury will weigh whether the state proves beyond a reasonable doubt that it is probable Horner will commit criminal acts of violence in the future that would constitute a continuing threat to society.
The alternative punishment is life in prison without parole.
Wise County Criminal District Attorney’s Office prosecutors are themselves hoping to limit possible evidence. In a motion, the state requested an order directing defense attorneys not to mention in the trial’s guilt-innocence phase that Horner has Asperger’s, autism, bipolar or multiple personality disorder, and not to refer to a civil settlement of a lawsuit Athena’s parents reached with FedEx.
Judge Gallagher has not ruled on the motions.
In November 2022 Athena was staying with her father and stepmother in Wise County. Her stepmother reported that she was missing, prompting a two-day search and investigation that led to Horner, who abducted Athena while delivering a package to her father’s home and later confessed to killing her, authorities have said.
Horner, a FedEx contract driver, delivered a Christmas gift of Barbies intended for Athena to her father’s house in the city of Paradise. Her body was found at a site along the Trinity River.
Horner told investigators in an interview that he backed into Athena with his truck, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. She was not seriously hurt, but he kidnapped and strangled her so she could not tell her father about the accident, Horner told authorities.
The trial was moved to Tarrant County after the defense filed a successful change of venue motion.
Jury selection in the case was finalized on Monday. Opening statements are scheduled for April 7.
This story was originally published March 31, 2026 at 9:44 PM.
