{"id":574666,"date":"2026-04-09T21:46:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T21:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/574666\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T21:46:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T21:46:13","slug":"killer-fedex-driver-blames-alter-ego-zero-for-7-year-old-athena-strands-murder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/574666\/","title":{"rendered":"Killer FedEx driver blames alter ego ‘Zero’ for 7-year-old Athena Strand’s murder"},"content":{"rendered":"

Killer FedEx driver Tanner Horner<\/a> blamed the murder of 7-year-old Athena Strand<\/a> on his alter-ego \u201cZero,\u201d and claimed that he thought his crimes were a \u201cnightmare,\u201d a jury in Texas heard.<\/p>\n

Horner claimed that his other personality \u201ctook over\u201d when he strangled the young girl after kidnapping her from outside her house, according to footage of his Wise County Sheriff\u2019s Office police interview that was played in court Thursday.<\/p>\n

Killer FedEx driver Tanner Horner blamed the murder of Athena Strand, 7, on his alter ego \u201cZero.\u201d FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth<\/p>\n

Horner claimed that he thought his crimes were a \u201cnightmare,\u201d a jury in Texas heard. The Dallas Morning News via Getty Images<\/p>\n

He claimed he had accidentally hit Strand with his truck<\/a> and said he tried to calm her down.<\/p>\n

When that failed, \u201cZero kind of took over,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe [Zero] told her, \u2018Just get in the back of the van, we\u2019re going to go to the hospital,’\u201d Horner told investigators, as he denied that he had killed Strand.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t do it, but he [Zero] did, and that\u2019s what f\u2013ks with me \u2026 I\u2019m wondering who the hell\u2019s been in my head this whole time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of me is in denial because I didn\u2019t pull the trigger,\u201d Horner said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou feel like \u2018Zero\u2019 pulled the trigger?\u201d the investigator asked, to which he responded, \u201cI feel like it, yeah. I tried to disarm the gun. I tried to stop all of this from happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Horner claimed that his other personality \u201ctook over\u201d when he strangled the young girl after kidnapping her from outside her house. Facebook\/Maitlyn Presley Gandy<\/p>\n

Horner strangled Strand and \u201ctossed\u201d her body in the back of his FedEx truck, before later stripping her and dumping her body in a river.<\/p>\n

He told investigators he couldn\u2019t remember what had happened when he killed the schoolgirl, before discovering her pants in his bag.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat night I kind of had a nightmare. I thought it was a nightmare until I found the pants in my backpack. I thought the entire thing was a nightmare,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Horner explained that he initially dumped Strand\u2019s body in a wooded area where he first took investigators to look for her.<\/p>\n

Horner was also asked about specific marks on Strand\u2019s body, to which he responded that they could have occurred when he took her body from his truck to the creek.<\/p>\n

\u201cI dragged her across the road and threw her in the bamboo,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He claimed \u201cZero\u201d then moved the girl\u2019s body to the creek and suggested that he remove her clothes to throw off investigators.<\/p>\n

Horner pleaded guilty on Tuesday<\/a> to killing Strand in 2022<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He faces the death penalty or life in prison without parole if convicted.<\/p>\n

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