Tanner Horner blames alter ego ‘Zero’ for Athena Strand’s murder, witness testifies
Former FedEx driver Tanner Horner blamed an alter ego for Athena Strand’s death, lied to investigators multiple times and led them on a wild goose chase when asked where he’d hidden the 7-year-old’s body, witnesses said Wednesday during the second day of Horner’s capital murder trial in Tarrant County.
Horner, 34, pleaded guilty Tuesday to capital murder in Athena’s killing. The jury will decide whether Horner should receive the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The search for Athena began Nov. 30, 2022, when the 7-year-old went missing from her family’s Wise County property. Investigators learned Horner had delivered a package to the child’s home about the same time, and thought the FedEx driver might have seen something.
“Initially, it’s another set of eyes, right?” the case’s lead investigator, Texas Ranger Job Espinoza, told the jury Wednesday. “What did you see? What was there?”
Horner said he’d seen a green van leaving the house, which prompted authorities to begin a search for the vehicle. But parts of Horner’s story didn’t match up, and video footage from the FedEx truck at the time of the kidnapping pointed straight to him, according to Espinoza.
“I saw Athena was still alive, and she was placed on that FedEx truck by Tanner Horner,” Espinoza testified.
Horner was detained about 3 p.m. on Dec. 2, 2022. Body-camera footage shows him being placed in handcuffs, while agents searched his FedEx truck for some sign of Athena. Simultaneously, a SWAT team was searching Horner’s home in Fort Worth. Espinoza arrived a few minutes after Horner was cuffed.
“Where’s she at?” the ranger asked Horner.
“I can show you,” Horner replied.
When asked if Athena was still alive, Horner said no. He told Espinoza she was already dead when he put her in the back of his truck.
“I immediately knew that was a lie,” Espinoza said. Athena appeared to be very much alive at the time of her abduction in the video he’d seen a short time before.
But Horner told Espinoza he’d backed into Athena with his truck and transported her body to an area with a lot of bamboo. Espinoza and another investigator went with Horner to try to confirm his story, but they didn’t find Athena.
Espinoza formally placed Horner under arrest and read him his Miranda rights, which Horner said he understood. The ranger asked Horner if he was sure they were in the right place. Could there be another spot that looked similar?
“She could be a little further down,” Horner replied. Later he told Espinoza, “I tossed her right there. I don’t know why you haven’t found her yet.”
After about two hours of fruitless searching, Espinoza took Horner to the Wise County Jail for an interview. Once there, Horner changed his story again.
The jury watched the video of the 90-minute interrogation. This time, Horner said that Athena wasn’t badly hurt when he hit her with the truck, but he started to panic about losing his job. Investigators have said that story was also a lie and that Horner planned to kidnap and kill Athena.
A voice in his head told him to grab her and go, Horner told the investigators. He said he just drove around trying to figure out what to do. He said Athena was standing in the back of his truck and asking him questions.
“Then I listened to that little voice again,” Horner said.
According to Horner, the “little voice” told him to hurt Athena. He said he tried to break her neck, but ended up choking her with both hands. He decided to put her body in the bamboo area, he said, but denied having sexually assaulted her.
In the video, Horner complains that he’s going to miss Christmas with his child and seeing his child grow up “all because I listened to some stupid voice.”
Horner told investigators that Athena’s murder seemed like a dream. He described it as an “out-of-body experience,” and said he’d had those at other times in his life. Horner also told Espinoza and another ranger about his alter ego “Zero,” who had been with him for the past six to eight months.
After the interview, Espinoza took Horner out again, hoping to locate Athena’s body. Horner reaffirmed that he had taken the little girl to the area with the bamboo. A helicopter and K-9 units had thoroughly searched the area earlier in the day, and Espinoza couldn’t find any trace of the child on his second visit either.
Espinoza told the jurors he realized “Zero” was just something Horner had invented, but he decided to play along so he could find out the truth about Athena. He asked Horner if “Zero” was the one who wasn’t telling him the truth.
It wasn’t clear on the bodycam video, but the ranger testified that Horner’s demeanor changed, and he turned his head to the side and rolled his eyes back as he pretended to turn into “Zero.”
“Zero, tell me where she’s at,” Espinoza said.
“In the creek,” Horner replied instantly.
Horner, still acting the part of “Zero,” directed Espinoza to the part of the Trinity River known as Bobo Crossing, the ranger testified. Athena was found facedown in around 3 feet of water.
“Thank you for bringing me to her,” Espinoza said to Horner. “Thank you for letting me get her home.”
The trial will resume at 9 a.m. Thursday. Espinoza is expected to testify again, and jurors will be shown video footage of another interview with Horner taken a few days after his arrest.
This story was originally published April 9, 2026 at 12:50 AM.
