After Tanner Horner pleaded guilty to killing Athena Strand Tuesday morning, jurors heard testimony and photo viewed evidence as they now will decide whether Horner will receive the death penalty. (KDFW-TV)

A former FedEx driver who admitted to killing 7-year-old Athena Strand, was sentenced to death Tuesday by a Texas jury.

Tanner Horner, 34, a former delivery driver accused of kidnapping and strangling the 7-year-old after hitting her with his delivery van in 2022, was sentenced to death by a Tarrant County jury.

After 19 days of testimony, both sides rested their cases on Monday and delivered closing remarks on Tuesday morning.

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Tanner Horner listens during the first day of his capital murder trial at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center in Fort Worth, Texas, on April 7, 2026. Horner is charged with kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Athena Strand in 2022. (Juan Figueroa/The Dallas Morning News; Wise County Sheriff's Office)

In 2023, Horner admitted to abducting Strand while delivering a package to her father’s home in Paradise, a town of fewer than 500 people about 60 miles northwest of Dallas. 

Her body was found on Dec. 2, two days after she was reported missing less than 10 miles away from the property.

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Horner, authorities said, was delivering a package of Barbie dolls intended to be Strand’s Christmas present. Athena was set to return to Oklahoma with her mother with her mother after the holidays and had been staying with her father, Jacob Strand, and stepmother, Ashley Strand, in Wise County.

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Tanner Horner listens during the first day of his capital murder trial at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center in Fort Worth, Texas, on April 7, 2026. He is charged with kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Athena Strand in 2022. (Juan Figueroa/The Dallas Morning News)

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According to the arrest warrant, Horner told investigators that he strangled the 7-year-old after accidentally hitting her with his van while making a delivery at her father’s home. He said Strand wasn't seriously hurt after he hit her while backing up, but he panicked and put her in his van. 

Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a U.S. Writer at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to sarah.rumpf@fox.com and on X @s_rumpfwhitten

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