Mother Confronts FedEx Driver Who Murdered Her 7-Year-Old Daughter in Court
The grieving mother of a seven-year-old girl who was kidnapped and murdered by a FedEx delivery driver stared down the killer as she delivered heartbreaking testimony during his sentencing hearing. Maitlyn Gandy, mother of Athena Strand, took the stand on Wednesday wearing a pink suit with her hair dyed pink to honor her late daughter's favorite color.
"I Will Be Her Face and Voice"
When asked why she attends every hearing leading to Tanner Horner's sentencing, Gandy explained she must represent her daughter who no longer has a voice. "I had to cover up handprint bruises around my daughter's neck," she told jurors deciding whether Horner should face the death penalty. "I want people to know that she's not just some story, not just some number, not just some picture you see in a headline. She was loved. She is loved."
The mother continued, turning her attention directly to Horner: "She is missed. She was real. She had a life and she wanted to live. Not a single person can take that from her. I will be her face and I will be her voice and I will make sure that every person in this world knows that she was loved and that she wanted to live."
The Tragic Crime
Horner, 34, had been delivering a box of Barbie dolls intended as Christmas presents to the Strand family home in Paradise, Texas, in November 2022 when he saw Athena playing outside unattended. He then strangled the young girl, abducted her, and dumped her body in a nearby creek.
Horner has pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping but claimed he accidentally struck Strand with his truck and strangled her out of fear she would tell her parents. He told the court he initially tried to break Athena's neck, and when that failed, strangled her with his bare hands.
A Mother's Memories
Gandy remembered her daughter as "free," "wild," "independent," and "strong." She described Athena as "bright and loving" and said "she wanted to be loved and to give love."
When Gandy first learned her daughter was missing, she drove from her Oklahoma home to Strand's father's Texas house in approximately 45 minutes—a trip that normally takes two hours. "I just told myself that if I kept going, it would be OK and I would find her," she testified. Police prevented her from joining search efforts for two days, fearing she might throw search dogs off the scent.
The Devastating Discovery
Upon learning her daughter was found dead, Gandy said she "went into a place of denial" and began to black out. She finally saw her daughter on December 6, 2022, noticing her daughter's "ears were messed up" with incision lines and scrapes on her chin.
"That wasn't my baby," Gandy said of the body. She applied makeup to conceal discoloration so Strand's father wouldn't have to see the damage. Gandy then selected clothing for her daughter's burial, including socks, panties, shoes, leggings, dresses, and bows, explaining "she was so cold and she didn't like the cold."
Family Impact
Gandy also spoke about her younger daughter, Ry, who was four years and seven months younger than Athena. She described how Athena was "beaming" when first holding her baby sister, having asked for a sibling for over a year.
The mother received Athena's ashes on December 10, 2022—Ry's third birthday. "I brought her sister home. It just wasn't the way I was supposed to," Gandy said.
She admitted lying to her youngest daughter for nearly a year about what happened to Athena, telling her the older sister was staying with her father longer or was at school or sleeping. "I didn't tell her that she had been killed until what should have been Athena's eighth birthday," Gandy revealed.
Daily Conversations
The mother concluded by saying she talks to her daughter every day, apologizing for not being there to protect her and stop Horner. "I tell her that I love her," she said. "I talk to her about Ry and what she's doing in life and how much she loves and misses her." She also tells Athena about people who love her and attorneys working to ensure she's not forgotten.
Killer's Letters
Jurors were shown letters Horner wrote to Strand's family in January 2023, where he expressed remorse and blamed his Asperger's Syndrome for the murder. He claimed he doesn't "do well with changes or things that are unpredictable" and was stressed by not driving the exact same FedEx route daily.
"I'm sorry I allowed my mental state to be unstable. I'm sorry I took your little angel away from you," Horner wrote. He also lamented the impact on his own family: "My son didn't deserve to lose his father. My mother didn't deserve to lose her son. My fiancé didn't deserve to have her wedding day stripped away."
The sentencing hearing continues on Thursday, when jurors are expected to watch footage from inside Horner's vehicle on the day Strand was kidnapped.
