Day 4 recap: Jury sees ‘abduction van’ where Tanner Horner killed Athena Strand
At the trial of Tanner Horner on Friday, jurors heard more testimony from crime-scene investigators and saw photos of evidence found at various locations connected with 7-year-old Athena Strand’s murder.
On Thursday, prosecutors showed photos of Athena’s clothing, which a search team found in a pile of trash outside Horner’s home.
Images shown on Friday that appeared to be important to the case included bungee cords and straps inside what investigators referred to as the “abduction van.” The significance of those items has not yet been explained. Investigators also photographed patterns on the van’s floorboards and Horner’s shoes to look for a match to markings on the victim’s face.
As more photos of the crime scenes are show to the jury, some graphic images may be blurred on the livestream video. Photos of Athena’s body will be handed directly to the jurors for them to look at and will not be shown on the projection screen in the courtroom or on the livestream video.
Horner, 34, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to capital murder in the course of kidnapping. The jury will decide his punishment. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, and the defense is asking for a sentence of life in prison without parole.
Horner, a former FedEx driver who abducted and killed the child on Nov. 30, 2022, while delivering a package to her rural Wise County home, told a false story about hitting the little girl with his van and then strangling her in a panic, according to testimony of the case’s lead investigator, Texas Ranger Job Espinoza. Investigators believe Horner actually planned to kidnap and kill Athena.
In interviews, Horner blamed an alter ego called “Zero” for the girl’s death, and he pretended to be Zero when he led Espinoza to Athena’s body, the ranger said.
Watch video of the trial here, and follow Star-Telegram.com for updates.
2 p.m. Trial concludes for Friday
The trial wrapped up for the day about 2 p.m. on Friday.
Sgt. Brett Yaro will continue testifying first thing Monday morning.
12:55 p.m. Sgt. Brett Yaro with Wise County CSI
Wise County Sheriff’s Office crime-scene investigator Sgt. Brett Yaro testified for about an hour.
Yaro collected DNA swabs from inside Horner’s mouth.
He also collected the clothing and the muddy tennis shoes Horner was wearing when arrested on Dec. 2, 2022. Under defense questioning, Yaro said he didn’t know whether Horner was wearing those same clothes and shoes on the day Athena was kidnapped and killed on Nov. 30, 2022.
Yaro testified that he photographed the pattern on the bottom of Horner’s shoes and patterns in different areas of the FedEx van inside which the victim was killed. Those photos were needed to compare with markings found on Athena’s face, he said.
Yaro also photographed Horner’s Dragon Ball Z backpack, which contained items including medications commonly used to treat depression and ADHD.
Yaro also photographed a map drawn on a whiteboard in the interrogation room where Horner was interviewed. He said the map showed where the victim’s body was found.
As the case’s lead investigator, Texas Ranger Job Espinoza, previously testified, Horner had also written a message on the board in red that said, “He’s going to hurt me. Please help.” That message referred to Horner’s alleged alter ego Zero, whom Horner has blamed for Athena’s death.
Yaro testified that he also collected notes that Horner wrote at the time of his suicide attempt in the Wise County Jail in May 2023. Those notes were addressed to law enforcement, Horner’s family, Athena’s family and a pastor, Yaro testified.
Horner was later moved to the Tarrant County Jail in Fort Worth. The trial is being held in Tarrant County because the defense requested a change of venue, arguing Horner would not receive a fair trial in Wise County.
Yaro also packaged the Walmart box that Horner had delivered to the Strands’ home on the day of the murder. It contained Barbie dolls that were intended to be a Christmas present for Athena.
11:15 a.m. Defense questions Wise County CSI
Defense attorney Susan Anderson asks Amey, the former Wise County crime-scene investigator, about possible cross-examination of some of the evidence collected.
The defense attorney showed photos of the straps found in the FedEx van placed directly on a table and asked whether they should have been placed on clean paper.
The trial is on a lunch break until 12:45 p.m.
10:30 a.m. Former Wise County CSI testifies
Alise Amey, who was a crime-scene investigator with the Wise County Sheriff’s Office in 2022, talked about being present when Athena’s body was pulled from the water at Bobo Crossing on Dec. 2. She taped bags on the little girl’s hands to preserve any DNA evidence. Prosecutors have said Horner’s DNA was found under Athena’s fingernails.
Amey also photographed Tanner Horner after his arrest that day to document any injuries on his body.
In January 2023, Amey and another CSI removed the floor boards from Horner’s FedEx van. She testified that there were markings on Athena’s face that were believed to match the floor boards. She also collected FedEx stickers that Horner may have used to cover the video-camera lens inside the van.
Amey testified that she resigned from the Sheriff’s Office in October 2023 after she was disciplined related to another capital murder case in June. She said she lied to her supervisor about allowing an intern to take some photos in that case. She was reassigned to patrol at that time.
10 a.m. Defense questions crime-scene investigator
Horner’s defense asked FBI Agent Duross a few questions about the evidence collected, both in the shed where Horner lived in west Fort Worth and in the FedEx van where he killed Athena.
In response to one question, Duross noted that the UV light used doesn’t show the specific type of bodily fluids that are present, and that is determined when the evidence swabs are tested at the lab. Testimony about what lab technicians found is expected later in the trial.
The court then took a 15-minute break.
9 a.m. FBI agents testifies about search of FedEx vans
FBI Special Agent Kurt Duross, who supervised the evidence-collection team, is testifying about searches of two FedEx vans — one that Horner was driving when he abducted and killed Athena, and one that he was driving when he was arrested.
In initial searches on Dec. 5, 2022, crime-scene investigators collected SD cards from the surveillance video systems in both vans. Duross noted that another driver had been using what prosecutors referred to as the “abduction van” in the days after the murder. Investigators removed packages from the back of the van before continuing their search.
Investigators used a blue UV light to look for signs of bodily fluids and evidence that cleaning supplies had been used. The team also dusted for fingerprints and searched for hairs, fibers and touch DNA evidence.
Prosecutors have been showing the jury photos of the evidence collected.
On Jan. 6, 2023, the Wise County Sheriff’s Office asked the FBI team to search the abduction van again with a stronger forensic UV light because further investigation had found that Horner cleaned the van after the murder.
As Agent Duross began to discuss photos of package tie-down straps and bungee cords that were found in the van, Horner’s defense team objected to questions about why those items were important in the case, saying that anything Duross was told by someone else would be hearsay.
Attorneys for both sides then had a sidebar discussion with the judge about that evidence, and audio on the livestream was briefly muted before they resumed showing photos of the evidence.
This story was originally published April 10, 2026 at 8:39 AM.
