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According to an arrest warrant, the driver of a FedEx truck admitted to strangling and killing a seven-year-old girl in Texas after accidentally hitting her with his van while delivering a package.
Tanner Horner, 31, was arrested last week concerning the abduction and death of Athena Strand. Horner now faces charges of capital murder and aggravated kidnapping.
According to a warrant cited by the Associated Press, Horner reportedly told authorities he backed into the girl during a Nov. 30 delivery and panicked. Instead of informing her father, Horner said he put the girl in his van and tried to break her neck but strangled her when that didn’t work, the warrant said.
Maitlyn Gandy, Athena’s mother, spoke Thursday morning publicly for the first time since the seven-year-old Texas girl’s death.
Gandy told reporters her daughter’s abduction occurred after a contract FedEx driver delivered a package containing a Christmas present for the girl to her father’s home in Paradise, Texas. Gandy shared this information while standing next to the box containing several Barbie dolls.
“Athena was robbed of the opportunity to grow up and be anything she wanted to be,” Gandy said. “In this present, ordered out of innocence and love, is one she will never receive.”
Earlier this week, several school districts throughout the state encouraged their students and staff members to wear pink, Athena’s favorite color, in her honor.
On Thursday morning, Gandy thanked the community for their support since Athena’s disappearance.
“I want everyone to know Athena. She was an amazing little girl who loved dancing, singing, and all animals — dogs, cats, horses, lizards, and chinchillas,” Gandy said. “She also loved school and all her friends in the first grade who are now struggling with her senseless murder.”
Gandy said she’d now like better candidate screening and hiring processes “so that monsters wearing delivery uniforms won’t show up on our children’s doorsteps.”
During Thursday’s news conference, Gandy’s attorney, Benson Varghese, said he’s now conducting a “thorough investigation” of his own into FedEx and the contractor that hired the suspect.
“We will uncover every person who is responsible through their actions or inactions for the tragedy that happened,” Varghese said.
The family’s attorney is asking anyone who knew the suspect or worked for the suspect’s employer to contact his law office and share information that may help with his investigation.
Gandy also shared her request that other parents hug their children tighter.
“I know that Athena’s death will not be in vain,” Gandy said. “I will spend the rest of my life fighting for her so that no other family will endure such unbearable pain and grief.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.