Sicko FedEx driver Tanner Horner had sex with his fiancée hours after murdering little Athena Strand
Tanner Horner, a FedEx driver who pleaded guilty to kidnapping, sexually assaulting, and murdering 7-year-old Athena Strand in 2022, told a forensic psychiatrist he had sex with his fiancée hours after the crime to prove he was not a pedophile. The psychiatrist, Eileen Ryan, testified that Horner claimed the act was meant to demonstrate his lack of attraction to children, despite admitting to assaulting the girl. The jury heard these details during Horner’s death penalty trial, where prosecutors challenged his credibility and mental health defense.
- ▪Tanner Horner pleaded guilty to kidnapping, sexually assaulting, and strangling 7-year-old Athena Strand in Wise County, Texas, in 2022.
- ▪Forensic psychiatrist Eileen Ryan testified that Horner said he had sex with his fiancée shortly after the murder to prove he was not a pedophile.
- ▪Horner initially claimed he accidentally hit Athena with his van and panicked, but surveillance footage contradicted his story.
- ▪A medical examiner determined Athena died from blunt force trauma, smothering, and strangulation, and her body was found two days after her abduction.
- ▪Horner admitted to the sexual assault after initially denying it, and the jury is deciding whether he will receive the death penalty.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
US News Sicko FedEx driver Tanner Horner had sex with his fiancée hours after murdering little Athena Strand By Emily Crane Published April 30, 2026, 7:21 a.m. ET Killer FedEx driver Tanner Horner went home and had sex with his fiancée just hours after he kidnapped, sexually assaulted and then murdered 7-year-old Athena Strand, a jury has heard. The confessed murderer made the sickening revelation in a twisted attempt to deny being a pedophile, according to forensic psychiatrist Dr Eileen Ryan, who interviewed him in jail several times after his arrest over the little girl’s 2022 slaying in Texas. “He had sex with his fiancée,” Ryan, a defense witness, said under cross-examination Wednesday.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at New York Post.
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