Lawyers representing a FedEx driver accused of kidnapping and murdering a seven-year-old girl in Texas are arguing that their client’s autism should exempt him from facing the death penalty.
On Tuesday, Tanner Horner’s defense team submitted 28 new legal motions in Tarrant County’s 297th District Court. These filings precede his impending trial for the capital murder charge concerning Athena Strand.
Strand was taken from her North Texas home on November 30, 2022. Horner has stated that during a delivery of Barbie dolls to the residence, he unintentionally struck the young girl with his vehicle, prompting him to panic. He then allegedly abducted her and placed her in his truck.
The tragically deceased girl’s body was discovered on December 2, abandoned beside a rural road approximately seven miles from her home. Horner is accused of having strangled her.
Attorneys for the 34-year-old driver contend that his diagnosis of autism should be a factor that removes the possibility of a death sentence.
Horner, maintaining his innocence, has pleaded not guilty, with his trial for capital murder scheduled to commence on April 7.
The new motion to dispel the death penalty read: ‘Mr. Horner’s autism spectrum disorder (ASD) reduces his moral blameworthiness, negates the retributive and deterrent purposes of capital punishment, and exposes him to the unacceptable risk that he will be wrongfully sentenced to death,’ KHOU 11 reported.
Strand’s mother, Maitlyn Gandy, has vehemently supported the death penalty for Horner if he’s found guilty of murdering her daughter.
Tanner Horner’s attorney now claim he has autism after he was charged with kidnapping and murdering a seven-year-old girl in Texas
Athena Strand was allegedly strangled to death after she was hit by Horner as he was delivering a package from his FedEx truck. She was found on December 2
The filing stated that individuals with ASD have impaired reasoning, social skills, impulse control, and communication – which places Horner under the category of people with intellectual disabilities.
The Supreme Court ruled that those with autism are ‘less culpable than the average criminal,’ according to the filing.
Under Texas law, capital murder of a person under ten years old qualifies the perpetrator for the death penalty.
Horner was arrested on December 2, 2022, the same day Strand’s body was found.
He allegedly confessed to police that he abducted and kidnapped the child during a delivery to her family’s home.
On February 17, 2023, a jury in Wise County formally charged Horner with kidnapping and murdering the young girl.
On top of the murder charge, Horner was charged with sexually assaulting a child almost a decade ago and faces three additional counts of sexually abusing a child in 2013 in Fort Worth.
In the new filing, Horner’s attorneys cited the infamous case of Robert Roberson – who is on death row for killing his daughter in Texas in 2002 – as an example of another defendant’s autism leading to a ‘wrongful conviction,’ as cited by Fox 4.
Roberson’s execution was halted in 2025, a week before it was set to take place, and his case was sent back down to a lower court based on a plea stemming from the state’s Junk Science Law.
This allows for a second look at a conviction that was based on science that has since been debunked. In Roberson’s case, the defendants argue his autism was ‘misunderstood’ and used against him in evidence during his trial.
Roberson was only diagnosed with autism after he was found guilty of murder.
Horner’s lawyers filed an additional motion on December 4, seeking to suppress three interrogations by law enforcement, claiming that the interviews continued despite the alleged murderer invoking his right to speak with an attorney.
Maitlyn Gandy, Strand’s mother supports the death penalty and her father, Jacob Strand has launched legal action against FedEx, claiming they did not carry out sufficient background checks
At a news conference, Gandy told how Horner, was delivering a You Can Be Anything Barbie to Strand’s father and stepmother’s house in Paradise
Strand’s mom Maitlyn Gandy, released a statement after Horner was indicted – expressing her love for her late daughter, and support of capital punishment.
Gandy said at the time: ‘I would like to thank the Wise County grand jury for their role in this process. Hearing the facts and circumstances of my seven-year-old daughter’s kidnapping and murder was undoubtedly very difficult for them.’
‘I want them to know that their work is deeply appreciated,’ she added. ‘Tanner Horner’s indictment is the beginning of a long road through the justice system.
‘I appreciate everyone’s continued support and for keeping Athena’s name and memory alive. Please take a moment to hug your children and loved ones. No one is promised another day.’
‘I support the death penalty. In any sentencing that may come,’ Gandy told WFAA.
The former FedEx driver was charged with sexually assaulting a child almost a decade ago and faces three additional counts of sexually abusing a child in 2013 in Fort Worth, Texas
‘Every breath he takes is one my daughter doesn’t.
‘If I could sit down in front of him, I would tell him that he is nothing, but that Athena is absolutely everything – and I will make sure that everybody in this world knows that he is nothing and that she is everything.’
Strand’s father, Jacob, has launched legal action against FedEx, claiming they did not carry out sufficient background checks before hiring Horner.
Former state district court Judge George Gallagher has been appointed to the trial, as the former driver is being held in Tarrant County Jail.
