The FedEx driver responsible for the abduction and murder of a seven-year-old girl was caught on video meticulously cleaning the van used in the crime, according to evidence presented in court.

During a hearing in Fort Worth, a video was shown depicting 34-year-old Tanner Horner using a large roll of paper and a spray cleaner to scrub down the interior of his vehicle. This cleaning session followed the tragic murder of Athena Strand in November 2022.

Horner spent several minutes thoroughly wiping the van before returning to the driver’s seat and departing the scene.

Subsequently, he was observed calmly smoking a cigarette, with wisps of smoke trailing out the van’s window.

In court, a haunting photo was revealed, showing young Athena kneeling near Horner inside the van prior to her death.

Athena was abducted from her home in Paradise, Texas, while Horner was delivering a package of Barbie dolls intended as a Christmas gift from her father and stepmother.

Horner initially told authorities that he accidentally hit Athena with his van and then strangled her in a panic, but prosecutors called that an ‘absolute lie’ and said Athena was not hurt before he abducted her.

Horner pleaded guilty to murder on April 7, hours before his trial was set to start and a jury will now decide whether he should be executed.

Athena Strand, seven, was abducted from her home in Paradise, Texas, in November 2022 and killed by Tanner Horner

Horner, 34, was seen cleaning his van with a large roll of paper towels and a spray substance in footage that was played in court

Horner abruptly pleaded guilty to murder on April 7, just hours before his trial was scheduled to begin

The vehicle that Horner used to kidnap Athena was called the ‘abduction van’ by prosecutors last Friday, according to FOX4.

Horner, an independent contractor working with FedEx, killed Athena on November 30, 2022. 

Bungee cords and bands were found inside the truck following Athena’s death, prosecutors said.

Crime scene investigator Alise Amey told the court that ‘markings on the victim’s face’ were found that were consistent with the floor of Horner’s van.

Medical examiner Dr. Jessica Dwyer, who ruled Athena died because of blunt force injuries with smothering and strangulation, also testified.

Dwyer told the court that the injuries on Athena’s face and chest had a zigzagged pattern.

She also said that she thought Athena had suffered before dying and did not rule out the possibility that she had been sexually abused.

‘Lack of injuries does not mean that there’s a possibility that a sexual assault did or did not occur,’ Dwyer said.

The medical examiner’s report said Athena’s body did not show signs of sexual trauma.

A photo was shown in court of Athena kneeling next to Horner in his van. Footage played to jurors revealed that the little girl repeatedly asked if he was a kidnapper

Athena died because of blunt force injuries consistent with smothering and strangulation, according to medical examiner Dr. Jessica Dwyer

Horner appeared to light up and calmly smoke a cigarette after completing a deep cleanse of his van

Horner’s trial has been replete with emotional moments, including when video was played of the moment Athena asked Horner whether she was being abducted moments before he killed her.

The full footage showed Horner arriving at Athena’s house and walking past the driver’s side window to deliver parcels.

He opened the van while Athena stood close by, then picked her up and placed her inside before shutting the door. 

Athena asked him several times, ‘Are you a kidnapper?’ 

Horner told her to sit down and threatened to hurt her if she screamed.

Horner could be heard asking Athena her age, name, where she went to school and whether her teacher was nice.

After she answered and told him she had a sister, Horner said, ‘You’re really pretty. You know that?’

The truck was heard coming to a stop as Athena asked her abductor if they were going to his house. 

‘No, I don’t live around here,’ Horner said, telling her that he lived ‘far away.’

Athena’s body did not exhibit signs of sexual trauma, according to the medical examiner’s report

Tanner kidnapped the little girl as he delivered a parcel of Barbies that her father and stepmother bought for her as a Christmas present

Following a pause, the van appeared to start, then brake again. Athena asked, ‘What are we doing?’, to which Horner responded to ‘hang out for a minute’.

He then asked Athena to remove her shirt, which she responded ‘no’ to before asking for her mom.

In the ensuing moments, the little girl could be heard crying and screaming while a loud banging noise went off.

Athena’s parents, Jacob Strand and Maitlyn Gandy, have both testified but were not in court as the video was played. 

Prosecutors have argued that Horner had only been ‘truthful’ when he told police ‘that he killed her.’

‘The pattern and web of lies that he put together, it’s going to be hard for y’all to keep up with,’ James Stainton, the Wise County District Attorney, said in his opening statement. 

‘It is lie upon lie upon lie upon lie,’ he added.

Stainton said that the first thing that Horner told Athena after picking her up was, ‘Don’t scream or I’ll hurt you.’

Horner, who was working with FedEx as an independent contractor, killed Athena on November 30, 2022

A jury will now decide whether Horner is executed. Horner previously told investigators that an alter ego of sorts, Zero, had committed the murder

Horner had previously claimed that he panicked after hitting Athena with his van, according to an arrest warrant cited by the Associated Press.

He said that he didn’t want her to tell her father what happened, so he initially tried to break Athena’s neck.

When that didn’t work, he strangled her with his hands in the back of the van.

The warrant said Horner took investigators at the Wise County Sheriff’s Office to where he’d left Athena’s body.

Horner also told investigators that an alter ego of his, Zero, ‘kind of took over’ after he failed to calm Athena down, according to NBC DFW.

‘He told her, “Just get in the back of the van, we’re going to go to the hospital,”‘ Horner said.

Horner claimed he had not committed the murder, instead pinned it on his alter ego. 

‘That’s what f***s with me,’ he told investigators, per the outlet. ‘I’m wondering who the hell’s been in my head this whole time.’

Horner also said that ‘part of me is in denial because I didn’t pull the trigger,’ adding that he felt like Zero had done that.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Steven Goble, Horner’s attorney, for comment.