Live updates: A surprise witness, cousin testifies Horner sexually abused him
Tanner Horner’s defense attorneys called their final witness Monday in the trial of the former FedEx driver who has pleaded guilty to killing 7-year-old Athena Strand. The state is presenting some rebuttal witnesses today in response to the defense case, including a surprise witness who alleges Horner sexually assaulted him.
Closings arguments in the trial are expected on Tuesday.
Horner’s lawyers are trying to convince the jury that the 34-year-old should be sentenced to life in prison without parole instead of the death penalty. Defense witnesses have focused on Horner’s childhood and mental conditions, including discussion of autism, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, bullying, sexual abuse, and lead exposure after he ate coins as a toddler.
At the start of the prosecution’s case on April 7, Horner pleaded guilty to capital murder in the course of kidnapping. The jury will decide his punishment.
The former FedEx driver abducted and killed Athena on Nov. 30, 2022, after delivering a package to her rural Wise County home. Horner 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 planned to kidnap and murder Athena.
The prosecution showed the jurors chilling video and audio evidence that included Athena’s last moments after Horner lured her inside the FedEx van. She died from blunt force trauma, smothering and strangulation, and Horner dumped her naked body in the water along the Trinity River.
The prosecution told the jury that Horner sexually assaulted Athena before killing her, and a DNA analyst testified that Horner could not be excluded as the source of male DNA found on swabs in the victim’s sexual assault kit.
In interviews with investigators, Horner blamed an alter ego called “Zero” for the girl’s death.
The trial is being held at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center in Fort Worth. Watch live video of the trial here with analysis from WFAA-TV, and follow Star-Telegram.com for updates.
3 p.m. Psychiatrist testifies for prosecution
Dr. Michael Arambula, a forensic psychiatrist, is testifying for the prosecution.
As part of his evaluation of Tanner Horner, Arambula reviewed the audio and video evidence in the case along with sworn statements from Horner’s relatives in depositions, and medical and other records.
The psychiatrist interviewed Horner in February in the courtroom. He said he informed Horner that the evaluation was court-ordered and the information shared would not be confidential. He told Horner that he could refuse to answer specific questions, and there were some questions Horner wouldn’t answer. Arambula did not know at that time that Horner was going to plead guilty.
Horner generally was cooperative but whenever they came to a subject the defendant didn’t want to discuss, he became increasingly less cooperative and more “worked up,” Arambula said.
2:10 p.m. Cousin says Horner sexually assaulted him
Judge George Gallagher overruled a defense objection to a surprise prosecution witness and is allowing testimony from Tanner Horner’s cousin, who alleges that Horner sexually assaulted him twice when they were children.
The man raised as Horner’s cousin, referred to only as Billy, said that he spoke to representatives of the defense prior to the trial and he asked them to connect him with the prosecution. Billy said the defense did not help him get in touch with the prosecution, so he then posted publicly on Facebook about the sexual assault allegations and spoke to Texas Ranger Espinoza.
Billy said that Tanner is about three years older than him and that Tanner first sexually assaulted Billy near a boat dock at Lake Worth when Billy was about 10 years old. Billy said he was afraid of Tanner so he went along with it.
Tanner used to beat up Billy and Tanner’s brother, the cousin testified.
Billy said that Tanner sexually assaulted him again three or four years later, and a couple of years after that he recalls Tanner saying that he wondered what it would be like to kill someone.
Asked why he came forward now, the witness said, “The truth needs to be told. He needs to pay for whatever he’s done.” The judge sustained an objection from the defense and told the jury to disregard the last statement.
1:30 p.m. Cross examination of prison official
In response to questions from the defense, Fitzpatrick said the Texas prison system prioritizes public safety, including the safety of staff, volunteers and civilians who visit the prisons, and that the staff is trained to manage prisoners.
On redirect by the prosecutor, Fitzpatrick said violence still occurs in prison despite best efforts to prevent it.
11:50 a.m. TDCJ official testifies
Tim Fitzpatrick, director of classification for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, testified as a rebuttal witness for the prosecution.
Fitzpatrick said that most inmates in Texas prisons, including those serving a life sentence without parole for capital murder, are housed either in a dorm type of environment with other prisoners or in a cellbock with a cellmate. They work jobs within the prison, go outside in the yard for recreation, eat in the cafeteria, participate in other activities with other inmates, and may be transported to another prison. They also are allowed contact visitation with family members in a visitation room.
Inmates who have disciplinary issues such as committing an assault in prison can be reclassified, at least temporarily, to a more restrictive environment, Fitzpatrick said.
Fitzpatrick agreed with the prosecutor that prison is a stressful environment where inmates lack control. He said in his opinion their best motivation for correct behavior is the hope for the possibility of parole.
Many witnesses during the trial have testified that Horner does not cope well with stress or change. Fitzgerald testified that death row is a more restricted and structured environment in which inmates stay at the same prison, live in a cell by themselves and are under much tighter security.
The trial is on a lunch break until 1:30 p.m.
11:30 a.m. Defense rests
The defense rested after Dr. Brams’ testimony. The prosecution is expected to call rebuttal witnesses, who may include its own psychological experts, after a morning break.
11 a.m. Cross examination of psychologist
When questioned by a prosecutor, Dr. Brams said she reviewed video of the murder but she did not talk to Horner about the crime.
Brams agreed with the prosecutor that Horner would have understood what he was doing when he sexually assaulted Athena and that he would know that strangling and beating her could cause her death.
9 a.m. Psychologist testifies for defense
Dr. Jolie Brams, a forensic psychologist who evaluated Tanner Horner, testified.
Brams interviewed Horner for about 12 hours and also met with his mother, his grandmother, the mother of his child, his brother, friends, an aunt, and one of his special education teachers.
She also reviewed video and audio of the crime and law enforcement interrogations of Horner, and records including tests conducted by other experts and the defendant’s medical, school and jail records.
Brams said the defense hired her to “look at Tanner’s developmental history and how that impacts his functioning over the course of time and prior to the offense.”
Asked about her impressions of Horner’s behavior during the law enforcement interrogations, Brams said it clearly showed that he is on the autism spectrum. Her opinion is Horner didn’t have the ability to understand how the Texas Rangers perceived him, the gravity of the situation, or “how fanciful his lies were.”
Brams said she doesn’t believe that Horner’s lies were “criminally minded” and that he didn’t gain anything from manipulation because he admitted that he was responsible for Athena’s death. She said Horner taking on the persona of Zero was like an imaginary friend and was his way of explaining to law enforcement what happened.
She said Horner doesn’t fit the criteria for antisocial personality disorder. Prior to the murder, he had done some things that were “a little creepy,” but he didn’t have a criminal mindset in her opinion, she said.
Brams said Horner’s impairments did not cause him to commit the kidnapping and murder, “but they set they stage for his life.” She said nothing in her testimony is an excuse or justification for the crime. “This is only an explanation of who this defendant is, so that whoever decides his fate understands him as completely as possible, but this is absolutely not an excuse,” she said.
This story was originally published May 4, 2026 at 8:06 AM.
