Cousin testifies Tanner Horner sexually assaulted him as a child
A surprise witness alleged at Tanner Horner’s capital murder trial Monday that the defendant sexually assaulted him twice when he was a child.
The man, who identified himself only as Billy in court, was raised as Horner’s cousin. He testified as a rebuttal witness for the state after the defense rested their case.
The trial entered its fifth week Monday. Horner, 34, has already pleaded guilty to kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Athena Strand after delivering a FedEx package to her family’s Wise County home on Nov. 30, 2022.
The jury will begin deliberating Tuesday on whether the defendant should receive the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole. Judge George Gallagher denied the defense’s motion Monday to set aside the death penalty option based on Horner’s autism spectrum disorder diagnosis.
Billy told the jurors that he was about 10 when Horner first sexually assaulted him near a boat dock at Lake Worth. Horner was around 13 at the time, the witness said.
“I was scared of Tanner,” Billy testified. “He was bigger than me; he’s beaten me up before. I went along with it.”
The second assault occurred about three or four years later, Billy said. On another occasion, he remembers Tanner saying he “wondered what it would be like to kill somebody.”
Horner’s defense attorneys objected to the surprise prosecution witness, but Judge Gallagher overruled the objection and allowed Billy’s testimony. The cousin said he’d never reported the assaults. He decided to come forward now because “the truth needs to be told.”
Two women testified during the second week of the trial that Horner raped them as teens. Jurors also heard chilling audio evidence that Horner sexually assaulted Athena before dumping her body in the water along the Trinity River.
Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Eileen Ryan said Horner finally admitted the sexual assault on Athena during a psychiatric evaluation. Despite Horner’s admission and the two women’s rape allegations, Ryan told the court April 29 that she doesn’t believe the defendant shows the pattern required for a diagnosis of pedophilia.
Dr. Michael Arambula, a forensic psychiatrist for the prosecution, also testified as a rebuttal witness Monday. He reviewed audio and video evidence in the case and interviewed Horner in February.
Multiple witnesses for the defense testified that Horner struggles to solve problems due to his autism spectrum disorder. Arambula said he’s willing to accept the diagnosis, but he believes Horner’s actions during the abduction show he was able to adapt and change his behavior and solve problems under stress. He asked Athena questions to keep her calm, Arambula pointed out, and he tried to cover up his crime.
The psychiatrist testified that he also found evidence of sexual deviance and sadism in Horner’s behavior. “It was very clear to me that he abducted (Athena) primarily for sex,” Arambula said, and Horner also threatened the little girl and used derogatory language toward her.
Prosecutors have said that Horner planned to abduct a child. They point to the fact that he covered up the front-facing camera in his FedEx truck at least three times during the week he kidnapped Athena, including before a Nov. 29 delivery to a family with two young daughters who lived on the same county road as the 7-year-old.
Arambula agreed with the prosecutor that Horner’s actions suggested pre-planning. The audio recording from the FedEx truck indicates the defendant had previously visited the secluded spot where he took Athena to sexually assault her, and Horner can be heard on the audio describing where they’re going as he drives and telling Athena the road is going to get bumpy, he said.
On cross examination, defense attorney Susan Anderson pointed out that Horner had been on those roads before because it was part of his FedEx route. It didn’t necessarily indicate he’d planned the crime in advance, she said.
Arambula testified that he asked Horner about the sexual assault on Athena toward the end of their interview. According to the psychiatrist, Horner got upset and denied it.
When Arambula told Horner he’d already heard the audio recording of everything Horner said to Athena, the defendant became angry, the psychiatrist said.
“His stare went right through me,” Arambula said. “Took me back because I wasn’t expecting that. Then, the rest of the interview, I didn’t challenge him after that because I could sense his anger.”
Arambula testified that he believes Horner will be a future danger to society, which is one of the questions the jurors must answer when they decide if the defendant should receive the death penalty.
The jury also heard from the defense’s last witness, forensic psychologist Dr. Jolie Brams, on Monday morning. Brams said Horner had done some things that were “a little creepy” prior to Athena’s murder, but she didn’t believe he had a criminal mindset.
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.
Closings arguments in the trial will take place on Tuesday morning, and then the jury will begin to deliberate.
