WISE COUNTY, Texas - A judge has denied a request to delay the trial of a former FedEx driver who is accused of kidnapping and killing a 7-year-old girl in Wise County.
Pretrial Hearings
What's new:
Monday was the first of several pretrial hearings for 34-year-old Tanner Horner’s capital murder trial.
Judge George Gallagher is keeping the early case proceedings off-limits to cameras as prosecutors and defense attorneys haggle over the details, including which questions will be used for potential jurors and what evidence and witnesses will be allowed at trial.
On Monday, the judge denied the defense team’s motion to delay the trial but said he might revisit it later. He then agreed to listen to six hours of police interviews to rule on a defense request to suppress all or part of those interviews.
Prosecutors also trimmed their list of 100 witnesses down to 60.
The hearings are expected to continue over the next two weeks. The trial is set for next April.
Athena Strand’s Murder
The backstory:
Horner is charged with capital murder for 7-year-old Athena Strand’s death in 2022.
According to police documents, Horner confessed to accidentally hitting Strand with his delivery truck in her family’s driveway.
Horner reportedly told police he panicked and killed the little girl.
Her body was found two days later on a roadside.
Tanner Horner pleads not guilty to killing, kidnapping Athena Strand
According to an arrest affidavit, Horner confessed to accidentally hitting Strand with his van while delivering a package to her home in Wise County in December 2022.
Horner pleaded not guilty to capital murder and kidnapping.
Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin previously said prosecutors will seek the death penalty.
Legal expert weighs in
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Hearing set in capital murder case of Athena Strand
The capital murder case against Tanner Horner, accused of the 2022 kidnapping and strangulation of 7-year-old Athena Strand, is heading to a procedural pretrial hearing on Monday as the trial approaches its scheduled 2026 start date.
What they're saying:
Toby Shook, a criminal defense attorney not involved in this case, shared his thoughts on how he thinks the trial will play out. He believes the nature of the allegations will play a role in the prosecution’s strategy.
"It’s going to be a very emotional case, because it’s the murder of an innocent child. It’s upsetting, but also very upsetting for jurors," Shook said. "Murder of a child is horrible, but this was strangulation. You’re face-to-face with the eyes of your victim, and it takes a while to strangle someone. I’m sure they’re going to bring that out."
The Source: The information in this story comes from Monday's pretrial hearing, as well as past news coverage and a recent interview with attorney Toby Shook.