Who is Tanner Horner, suspect in kidnapping, murder of Texas 7-year-old Athena Strand?
Authorities on Friday arrested Tanner Lynn Horner, a FedEx contract driver, and said he is accused of kidnapping and killing a 7-year-old North Texas girl after making a delivery to her home.
Horner, 31, is from Fort Worth. He does not appear to have a prior criminal record in Tarrant or Wise counties.
He was being held Saturday in the Wise County Jail on $1.5 million bond and faces charges of capital murder of a person under 10 years old and aggravated kidnapping in the death of Athena Strand. Athena’s body was found Friday evening, two days after she was reported missing by her stepmother.
Authorities said Horner has confessed to the crime. Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin called it “a crime of opportunity.” He said investigators don’t believe that Horner knew Athena or her family.
Horner’s social media accounts say he has been an Uber driver, is a musician and graduated from Azle High School.
FedEx issued a statement late Friday:
“Words cannot describe our shock and sorrow at the reports surrounding this tragic event. First and foremost, our thoughts are with the family during this most difficult time, and we continue to cooperate fully with the investigating authorities. At this time, any further questions should be directed to law enforcement.”
‘You never know who your neighbor is.’ Fort Worth residents react to Tanner Horner arrest
Uber said Saturday that Horner has not driven on the app in months and that he has been banned from the platform. An Uber spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to questions of whether Horner was ever the subject of complaints while driving for the company.
Suspect’s neighbors
Authorities searched Horner’s home on Friday but did not say what they found there.
Those who live in the neighborhood, near Lake Worth, describe it as a quiet place where neighbors usually keep to themselves.
Elderly people walking their dogs and moms with children are a regular sight on the street. At least a couple of the houses are Airbnb rentals.
Crystal Guadian said she’s lived in that area on Sommerville Place Road for five or six years and she’s always felt safe.
When she saw on the Friday night 10 o’clock news that one of her neighbors was accused of kidnapping and killing a child, she said she “freaked out.”
Guadian said she didn’t know Horner, but she frequently saw his FedEx truck parked outside his house.
Friday around 3 p.m., Guadian left the house to pick up one of her children from school. When she got back to her street around 3:30, it was blocked off and there was a heavy police presence. She also saw the Texas Rangers and SWAT in the area.
Guadian said she started to shake all over when she found out what happened and she didn’t sleep at all Friday night.
“You kind of forget that you never know who your neighbor is,” she told the Star-Telegram.
Another neighbor who asked that the Star-Telegram withhold her name confirmed that Horner lived in the neighborhood with his mother and grandmother.
The neighbor said Horner was always coming and going. Sometimes he would be home for a couple weeks and then he would leave for a month.
The woman said she didn’t know Horner well, but she had a hard time picturing him intentionally abducting and harming a child.
“I find it just shocking it was him,” she said.
Another neighbor who also asked to remain anonymous said police were “everywhere” Friday until after midnight. She didn’t know what was going on, but she said rumors started to circulate on Facebook that evening that it had something to do with Athena Strand.
Read more on the case
Timeline: Two days after Athena Strand disappears from Paradise, an arrest is made
Exclusive: Sheriff says kidnapping, murder of Athena Strand was a ‘crime of opportunity’
Who is Tanner Horner, suspect in kidnapping, murder of Texas 7-year-old Athena
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