‘Forever changed’: Trial witnesses share impact of Athena Strand’s murder
Athena Strand’s brutal death at the hands of FedEx driver Tanner Horner forever altered the lives of her family and friends, witnesses told the jury Tuesday morning during the first day of the sentencing phase of Horner’s capital murder trial in Tarrant County.
Lindsey Thompson, Athena’s first-grade teacher at Paradise Elementary School, described the 7-year-old as a “free spirit” who loved to write and draw and talk with friends.
“She definitely was a true gem,” Thompson said.
Thompson still remembers Athena’s last day in class — Nov. 30, 2022. The first-grader was excited about the upcoming Christmas holidays and had talked a lot in school. Thompson wrote a note for Athena’s parents about the excessive talking, but wanted to end the day on a good note.
“I gave her a hug and I told her, ‘I love you, and we’ll have a better day tomorrow,’” Thompson said. But there was no tomorrow for Athena.
Prosecutors say Horner grabbed Athena and put her in his FedEx truck later that afternoon. The defendant had just delivered a box of Barbies to the family’s Wise County home — Barbies that Athena’s stepmother had ordered as a Christmas gift for the 7-year-old. After kidnapping the child, Horner strangled Athena and dumped her body in the Trinity River in rural Wise County. He led authorities to the site on Dec. 2 after investigators traced the FedEx package to him.
Horner, 34, pleaded guilty to capital murder in Athena’s killing moments before the evidence presentation in his trial was set to begin Tuesday morning. The trial has now moved on to the sentencing phase. Over the next several weeks, the jury will hear all the evidence in the case and determine if Horner should receive the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The jury was introduced to Athena through several photos Tuesday morning: Athena with a giant red bow in her hair and a big smile, Athena in a Hocus Pocus T-shirt, Athena on her first day in Thompson’s class.
Thompson said Athena’s classmates coped with their grief by leaving notes and drawings for Athena in a special “mailbox” Thompson and her husband made for that purpose. About 100 notes were left in the course of the school year, Thompson estimates. The children are now in the fourth grade, but Thompson believes their friend’s death has had a lingering impact on their lives.
Thompson herself has gone through therapy. She said her career is divided into pre-Athena and post-Athena.
“It has forever changed my life, forever changed how I teach my kids,” she said.
Athena’s stepmother, Elizabeth Ashley Strand, talked about the evening Athena went missing. The 7-year-old had arrived home on the school bus a short time earlier. Her then 10-year-old stepsister went to visit other family on the property to get help with homework, and Athena was supposed to be sorting laundry in her room.
Ashley was making supper. When she didn’t find Athena in her room, she assumed the child was playing hide and seek or running around somewhere on the family’s 10 acres as she often did. But when a search of the property showed no sign of Athena, Ashley called police.
Ashley told the jury that she tries not to think about that terrible time. Her family is still suffering the results, she said. Her marriage to Athena’s father ended, and Athena’s stepsister, now 14, struggles with nightmares.
“I’m not the same. I don’t trust anybody,” Ashley said. “You’re just not OK after something like that.”
The trial will resume at 9 a.m. Wednesday, when the jurors are expected to watch several hours of video showing law enforcement interviews with Horner and the discovery of Athena’s body. The lead investigator, Texas Ranger Job Espinoza, will testify.
This story was originally published April 7, 2026 at 10:18 PM.
