'The death penalty ... is the ONLY just punishment': Allie Stuckey reacts to new details in Athena Strand murder



Tanner Horner, the FedEx driver accused of kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Athena Strand last week, has confessed to strangling the young girl to death because “she was going to tell her father" that he had hit her with his truck, according to court documents.

Horner, 33, told investigators that he accidentally hit Athena after delivering a package to her home but that the little girl was "not seriously injured." Then, he said he "panicked and put her in the van." Video footage captured by the truck's interior camera shows Horner talking with the child inside of the van.

"The Defendant [Horner] stated when he was backing up in his FedEx truck, he accidentally hit Athena with the truck, but she was not seriously injured, [he] panicked and put her in the van. The Defendant stated Athena was alive at that time, talking to him, and told him her name was Athena. The Defendant stated he attempted to break Athena’s neck to kill her. The Defendant stated when he attempted to break Athena’s neck, it did not work, so he strangled [her] with his bare hands in the back of the Fed Ex van," an arrest warrant affidavit said. "During the course of the interview, the Defendant again stated he strangled Athena because she ‘was going to tell her father about being hit by the Fed Ex truck the Defendant was operating."

"The death penalty, if he is convicted, is the only just punishment. It is the only just punishment. It is actually profoundly unjust for him not to get the death penalty," stated BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey on a recent episode of "Relatable."

"If there is any case that deserves the death penalty, it is this. And it is an injustice by the United States of America to not push for the death penalty in cases like this. It would be an injustice by the state of Texas to not push for that," She added. "Federal executions for some of the most heinous murders that you have ever heard of, that is justice. That is not cruel. That is justice. God calls it justice, and you are not, none of us are more just than God."

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Texas girl, 7, who went missing is found dead; FedEx driver arrested for murder, kidnapping



Authorities said a 7-year-old Texas girl who went missing from her home earlier this week was found dead Friday evening, CBS News reported, adding that a FedEx driver has been arrested for murder and kidnapping.

What are the details?

The network, citing KTVT-TV, said Athena Strand disappeared Wednesday evening from her father's home in Paradise — a city with only 475 residents just over an hour northwest of Dallas.

A huge multiagency search ensued involving hundreds of volunteers, CBS News said.

Athena's body was located after a tip investigators received earlier Friday, the network said, citing Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin.

Her cause of death was not released, CBS News said, adding that the exact location where her body was found was not disclosed, either. Akin did say her body was located southeast of the Wise County town of Boyd, the network added.

The suspect was identified as 31-year-old Tanner Lynn Horner, CBS News said, adding that Akin said the suspect was taken into custody Friday on charges of capital murder and aggravated kidnapping,

Akin added that Horner was a FedEx contract driver who delivered a package to Strand's home about when she disappeared, the network reported.

"We knew early on in the investigation that there had been a FedEx driver [who] made a delivery in front of the house about the same time that little Athena, 7-year-old Athena, came up missing," Akin said, according to CBS News.

Investigators believe Strand died "within the very hour or so after her departure from her home," Akin added, according to the network.

The sheriff also said Horner confessed to the crime and that investigators obtained "digital evidence," CBS News reported, adding that Akin didn't elaborate.

"We do have a confession," the sheriff said, according to the network.

Horner, of Lake Worth, Texas, is being held on $1.5 million bail, CBS News noted.

The sheriff's office said it received a call from Athena's stepmother on the evening of the girl's disappearance reporting her missing after the two had an argument while her father wasn't home, KTVT reported. Police said the stepmother spent "about an hour" looking for Athena before contacting the sheriff's office, the station added.

Akin told CBS News that FedEx cooperated with investigators.

"Our thoughts are with the family of Athena Strand during this most difficult time. Words cannot describe our shock and sorrow surrounding this tragic event," FedEx said in a Saturday statement. "We continue to cooperate fully with the investigating authorities."

Athena Strand: Suspect in 7-year-old girl's death held on $1.5 million bondyoutu.be