Tanner Horner, the former FedEx driver who pleaded guilty to killing 7-year-old Athena Strand, wrote in a jail letter that he was mentally "unstable" and apologized to her family during the punishment phase of his trial.
Jurors in the case heard the letter on Monday after prosecutors said it was recovered from Horner's jail cell following a suicide attempt. The letter was addressed to "Athena's Family" and was read aloud in court as the panel decides whether Horner should receive the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
In the letter, Horner said, "I've done a terrible thing to your family, and I'm sorry," and wrote that he had stayed awake "countless nights" unable to sleep. He also said, "I'm sorry I allowed my mental state to be unstable," and told the family that Athena "didn't deserve it," according to Fox4 News.
Horner linked his behavior to autism-related struggles, saying he lives with Asperger's syndrome and does not handle unpredictable changes well. He wrote that route changes at work, first at FedEx and later with another company, worsened his mental health and led to breakdowns. He also said changes in his work schedule nearly pushed him into a suicidal episode.
The letter went beyond apology and included an attempt to explain his state of mind before the killing. Horner wrote that he was forced into different delivery routes, described himself as a "floater," and said he believed the pressure from work was part of why his life and mental condition deteriorated. He ended by asking for forgiveness and asking the family to remember his son with "grace and mercy."
Prosecutors also read a second letter Horner allegedly wrote to detectives, in which he gave a very different account of the crime, CBS News reported. In that note, Horner claimed another man was involved, saying an older man with a rifle forced him to take Athena elsewhere and threatened his family if he did not comply. He asked detectives not to share the claims with the media or with Athena's family until after a lawsuit against FedEx.
The letters were presented as the punishment phase continued in Tarrant County, where Horner has already pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping. Prosecutors have said the case includes lies, shifting stories, and evidence that Horner tried to distance himself from the killing.
Athena Strand disappeared from her family's rural Wise County home in November 2022 and was found dead two days later. Her killing prompted the creation of Texas' Athena Alert law, which expanded on when police can issue emergency missing-child alerts, as per ABC7 News.
Originally published on Lawyer Herald
