In this episode of Pushing Up Lilies, I’m covering a case that is incredibly difficult to talk about, the kidnapping and murder of 7-year-old Athena Strand, and the man responsible, Tanner Lynn Horner. This is one of those stories that stays with you. Athena was just a child, full of life, curiosity, and innocence, and her disappearance quickly turned into something far more devastating than anyone could have imagined. What makes this case even more unsettling is how ordinary the circumstances seemed at first… and how quickly everything changed. As I walk through the timeline of what happened, I do so with great care, for Athena, for her family, and for anyone listening who may find this story especially heavy. This episode is not about sensationalizing tragedy. It’s about acknowledging it, understanding it, and honoring a life that should have had so much more time. From an investigative perspective, I also touch on how cases like this unfold, how quickly information moves, how critical those first hours are, and the realities behind scenes that most people never see. But at the center of this episode is not the perpetrator. It’s Athena. Her story matters. Her life matters. This episode contains discussion of child abduction and violence, and I encourage you to take care of yourself while listening.
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00:06
Welcome to Pushing Up Lilies. I'm your host, Julie Mattson. Pushing Up Lilies is a weekly true crime podcast with spine-tingling, unusual, and terrifyingly true stories from my perspective as a forensic death investigator and a sexual assault nurse examiner.
00:24
Do I have some stories for you? Are you ready? Hey guys, welcome to another episode of Pushing Up Lilies. This is your host, Julie Mattson. I still can't get over how much fun I had last week at Beyond the Crime.
00:41
And I am really looking forward to CrimeCon. I have so much new merchandise that y'all are going to love. And so, if you get a chance, I'm an exhibitor. Stop by and visit with me and get your pushing up lilies poker chip.
00:57
I want to talk this week about a case that is here in Texas. I know that y'all have heard about it. It's been all over the news. It's been on Court TV, and it's definitely been talked about here because it's literally right down the road from me.
01:13
I want to start this episode by being completely honest with you. I was not planning to cover this story. In my work as a forensic nurse death investigator, I encounter many cases. A lot of them are widely known and others never make the headlines.
01:31
But over time, you kind of learn to be a little selective about which stories you share publicly, especially when they involve children. Because those cases stay with you in a different way. They're a lot heavier, they're harder to talk about, and they require a level of care and respect that really goes beyond ordinary storytelling.
01:54
The reality is that this trial is being broadcast live on court TV, and I know that many people are following this case very closely. Conversations about Athena Strand are happening everywhere, online, in workplaces, in homes, and across the country.
02:13
And when a case involving a child reaches this level of public attention, it really becomes important to discuss the facts very clearly, responsibly, and with professional context. And that's why I made the decision to cover this story.
02:30
As a forensic nurse death investigator, my role in real life is to examine deaths that occur under suspicious, sudden, or violent circumstances. And so, I've worked very closely with law enforcement and prosecutors.
02:48
My job is to document what happened and maybe collect evidence and help determine the cause and manner of death. And it's very detailed and it's also very emotional. And it's work that requires a lot of objectivity and compassion and precision.
03:07
And so, when I talk about this case today, I'm not speaking as a sensational storyteller. I'm speaking as a professional who understands how investigations unfold and how evidence is actually gathered and how the justice system evaluates what happened.
03:26
And more importantly, I'm speaking as someone who understands the impact that cases have on families and communities. So, this episode is going to walk through the full story of Athena Strand, who she was, what happened on November 30th, 2022, how investigators responded, and what jurors are now considering as they decide the sentence for this man who pleaded guilty to her murder.
03:55
Everything discussed here is based on reported facts from news coverage and court proceedings. So, my goal is actually to provide clarity, context, and understanding while also honoring the life of a child whose future was taken far too soon.
04:13
So, before we talk about crime scenes and investigations or courtrooms, we talk a little bit about Athena, because every case begins with a person and not just a headline. Athena was only seven. So many of us can relate.
04:29
We've got kids or grandkids her age. She was a first grader. She lived in Paradise, Texas, which is a very small rural community northwest of Fort Worth. And people who knew her described her as energetic, curious, and talkative.
04:47
She loved animals very much. She loved school. She loved learning. And like many kids her age, she had big dreams and a very vivid imagination. She was at a stage in life filled with discovery, reading new books and building friendships and looking forward to the holidays.
05:07
And in late November of 2022, when this was all happening, Christmas was approaching. Now, for children, Christmas carries a special kind of excitement. Now, if you're like me, it carries an excitement for me, and I'm 58.
05:21
But it represents magic and anticipation and possibility. Athena was no different. Her stepmother had ordered a Christmas present for her, a set of Barbie dolls called You Can Be Anything. And the name alone is heartbreaking when you think about what happened to Athena, because every child deserves a chance to become anything they dream of becoming.
05:46
In forensic work, we often talk about victims in terms of evidence and timeline. But behind every case file is a life, a personality, and a family, and a future that was interrupted. And that's something I really have to remind myself of every time I step into an investigation, especially when the victim is a child.
06:09
Now, Paradise, again, very small town. It's a kind of place where neighbors recognize each other's vehicles. Children ride bikes down the quiet roads. And crime is not something people expect to encounter here in their daily lives.
06:25
Communities like this often have a really strong sense of safety and trust. And that trust can sometimes create vulnerability because people don't anticipate danger. Delivery trucks are also a normal part of modern life.
06:41
I mean, they are everywhere now. We all order on Amazon. We all order from FedEx. We all order from UPS. Packages arrive every day. Clothes, groceries, holiday gifts, and most of us barely even notice them anymore.
06:57
They're so routine and they're so predictable and they just feel very safe. But on November 30th, 2022, a delivery truck became the setting for a crime that would devastate an entire community. The afternoon of November 30th, it began like any other day.
07:17
Athena was at home and at some point, she went outside to play in the driveway. Not abnormal. When I was a kid, I rode my bike miles away from home and I didn't have a cell phone. My parents didn't have a cell phone.
07:31
No one checked on us. We were gone all day long for hours at a time. All we were told was to be home by dark. It was late in the day, just before sunset, and the weather was typical for a late fall in Texas.
07:45
It was cool, but not bad. There was no indication that anything unusual was about to happen. And then a delivery truck arrived. The driver was Tanner Horner. Tanner was a 34-year-old contract delivery driver working on a route in the area.
08:05
And his job was pretty straightforward. He was supposed to deliver packages to homes along this assigned route. And one of those packages was addressed to Athena's home. Inside the package was the Christmas gift that her stepmom had ordered for her.
08:22
And from an investigation standpoint, the arrival of this delivery truck initially kind of appeared routine. But what happened next actually transformed a normal delivery into a criminal act. After dropping off the package, Warner did not leave immediately.
08:41
Instead, he opened the rear doors of the truck, approached Athena while she was outside, lifted her into the vehicle, and placed her inside the cargo area. And this happened very quickly. There were no witnesses close enough to even interview.
09:02
And within moments, the truck began moving away from Athena's home. One of the most difficult aspects of this case is understanding the moment when Athena realized she was in danger. Now, as investigators later discovered, the delivery truck was equipped with recording equipment, and it captured video and audio inside the vehicle.
09:25
And that evidence became very intrical to this case. The recordings revealed Athena asking questions almost immediately. She was trying to understand what was happening and why it was happening. Many times, children respond to unfamiliar situations by asking questions and trying to seek information.
09:48
They're just trying to make sense of what's going on. From a forensic and behavioral standpoint, that response is very typical. It shows that she's aware of what's going on and it shows cognitive processing and a lot of courage in this case.
10:08
She asked the driver what he was doing. He asked him if he was a kidnapper. He also asked where they were going. A lot of those questions kind of tell us something about how she was thinking. She recognized that this was not normal.
10:24
She recognized that she was potentially in danger and she was attempting to communicate with him. Now, in my professional experience, moments like this are critical in understanding victim behavior. A lot of them demonstrate perception, resistance, and survival instinct.
10:44
Even in fear, children try to assert control by asking questions. Unfortunately, in this case, Hannah Horner responded with threats, and he told her to sit down, and he warned her that he would hurt her if she did not comply.
11:01
Threats are common. These are common tactics in violent crimes. They're used to establish control, and verbal threat can be just as significant sometimes as physical action. They demonstrate intent and they reveal mindset.
11:20
They often become important evidence in court. When a suspect tells a victim they will cause harm if they do not obey, that statement can really establish coercion and premeditation. Prosecutors frequently rely on those details to show that a crime was deliberate.
11:42
Now, in cases involving children, RIP can really be powerful because children rely on adults for safety and authority. And when an adult uses that authority to intimidate a child, the psychological impact is really immediate.
11:58
That dynamic was present in this case, 100%. As the truck continued moving, the situation escalated. And at some point, the camera inside the vehicle was covered. Now, this action actually prevented further video recording, but the audio system continued to capture sound.
12:23
This detail is really significant in the investigation. Covering a camera demonstrates that he was very aware that he was being watched. He was very aware that there were cameras in the vehicle and there was surveillance.
12:38
It suggests an attempt to conceal his actions, so he knew he was doing something wrong. And in court, that behavior can be interpreted as evidence of intent. What happened next was revealed through audio recordings that were actually presented during the trial.
12:56
The driver actually asked Athena questions about her age and her school, and he asked about her teacher and if her teacher was nice. The conversation may kind of sound ordinary on the surface, but in the context of an abduction, it's really unsettling.
13:14
It shows a shift from physical control to psychological manipulation. It also shows that the suspect was engaging the child in conversation while also maintaining control over the situation. And at one point, he made a comment about her appearance.
13:34
He told her she was pretty. And statements like that are many times indicators of inappropriate intent. In investigative work, we pay close attention to language because it can reveal motive. Eventually, the truck stopped, according to prosecutors, ordered Athena to remove her shirt.
13:55
She refused. She said no. And I watched court TV and I watched her teacher's testimony, and I heard her teacher say that they had been talking about Stranger Danger at school. So, she refused. She said no.
14:09
She asked for her mother. She asked to go home. And that refusal is important because resistance can manifest in many forms. Verbal refusal, physical struggle, and attempts to escape. And even small acts of resistance can leave evidence.
14:30
Scratches, bruises, defensive wounds, these details actually help investigators reconstruct what happened. And in this case, prosecutors told jurors that Athena did fight back. And that statement actually carries a lot of weight in court.
14:46
It reflects not only the violence of the attack, but also Athena's courage. At some point after the truck stopped, the situation moved from abduction to fatal violence. According to evidence presented in court, the interaction escalated into physical assault.
15:08
Audio recordings captured sounds of struggle, distress, and fear. And investigators later testified that Athena resisted her attacker. She did not comply quietly. She fought that. And that detail is heartbreaking, but it's also very, very important because resistance tells investigators something about the sequence of events.
15:33
It tells us that the victim was conscious and she was very aware of what was happening and she was trying to protect herself. Resistance also can lead to a trail of evidence, and we look for defensive injuries on bodies.
15:50
We look for scratches, bruises, abrasions on the hands, arms, or face. We examine the clothing fibers, skin cells under the fingernails, patterns of injury that might indicate struggle. And a lot of these findings help reconstruct the final moments of a victim's life.
16:09
And they also help us understand exactly what happened, but also how it happened. In this case, the medical examiner later determined that Athena actually died from a combination of blunt force trauma, smothering, and strangulation.
16:27
And even each of those mechanisms tells a piece of the story. So blunt force trauma, as we all know, suggests impact of some sort or supplied to the body with energy. Smothering indicates obstruction of breathing, often involving pressure over the nose and mouth.
16:47
And strangulation, of course, involves a compression of the neck, like restricting the airway or the blood flow to the brain. And so, when multiple mechanisms of death are present, investigators have to carefully analyze the order and interaction of those injuries to determine the cause and manner of death.
17:08
Now, as a forensic nurse investigator, I can tell you that determining the cause of death is never guesswork. It's a methodical process and it actually combines physical examination, medical history, scene evidence, and laboratory testing.
17:26
Every single bruise, every single fracture, and every pattern matters. The goal for us is to actually speak for the victim when they can no longer speak for themselves. After the fatal assault, Pullner continued driving.
17:45
And I want to add that he did initially say that he struck her and panicked and put her in the back of the truck. When you look back at the video, it's obvious that that's not what happened. She is conscious and very aware that things are not normal.
18:01
Evidence later showed that Athena's body was transported away from the actual location where she was attacked, and eventually her body was left in the Trinity River. And that act actually transformed the crime scene into multiple locations.
18:19
The site of the assault, the vehicle itself, and the recovery site. So, each location has to be carefully investigated. From a forensic perspective, moving a body is a very critical detail. It can indicate an attempt to hide something, delay discovery, or actually avoid detection.
18:44
And investigators examine transportation patterns and timelines and environmental conditions to kind of determine how and when the body was moved. In water recovery cases in particular, there are specialized procedures because water can alter the evidence.
19:07
It can affect decomposition and it can complicate the forensic analysis at times. The disposal of the body in water, though, does not erase evidence. In fact, sometimes it creates additional evidence.
19:24
Water leaves marks on the skin, clothing, and surrounding materials, and it's going to affect the temperature, the insect or fish activity, and tissue preservation. And those changes can actually help farm specialists estimate and reconstruct events.
19:46
While all these events were unfolding, Athena's family finally realized something was wrong. And at some point, they noticed that she was not where she was supposed to be. Panic, of course, as you can only imagine, if you've ever lost your child in the department store, which I think we all have at some point, panic sets in quickly.
20:05
And so, when a child disappears unexpectedly, we all know that every minute matters. Families often move really quickly because they're confused and they're scared to death, especially when there's no explanation for the absence.
20:22
Law enforcement was contacted and a missing child investigation began. And officers responded to the home, and they were trying to gather information. They asked questions about the last time she was seen, who was present, what activities had taken place that day.
20:40
And the investigators documented the environment and searched the surroundings and began trying to build a timeline. In child abduction cases, the first few hours, we've always heard this, they're critical because responding quickly actually increases the chances of finding the child safely.
21:02
That urgency drives the pace of the investigation. Officers started to coordinate search teams and neighboring jurisdictions were alerted. They started reviewing surveillance footage as quickly as they could.
21:17
The search for Athena quickly expanded beyond this immediate neighborhood. Volunteers joined law enforcement to comb through fields and wooded areas and nearby properties. Search teams used vehicles, drones, and coordinated grid patterns to cover as much ground as they could.
21:40
And community members gathered to support the family and assist in the effort. Large-scale searches serve multiple purposes. They actually increase the chances of locating the victim, but they also preserve evidence.
21:56
Search teams are trained to observe details, soil that's been disturbed, clothing that's been discarded, any unusual objects. Every observation can be a lead, so it's very important that they're paying close attention.
22:11
And in this case, investigators began reviewing delivery records and surveillance data. They identified the delivery truck that had been at the home before she disappeared, and that information actually narrowed the focus of the investigation dramatically.
22:30
Once investigators determined that this delivery driver had been present at the home, they worked quickly to try to find him. Now, delivery routes are documented electronically, allowing investigators to track movements of the vehicle.
22:49
And that technology provided critical information about Tanner Horner's location. Law enforcement located him within hours, and he was taken into custody for questioning. During interviews, investigators confronted him with evidence of the delivery route and the timeline of events.
23:13
Eventually, he did confess to abducting Athena and he did provide information about where her body could be found. Now, I do know if you watched any part of the news that there is a video of him coming up on a roadblock.
23:29
He rolls out his window because he seems agitated that they won't let him through to make his delivery. And the lady tells him there's been a child abduction. And he says, really? Are you serious? Like he absolutely has no knowledge of this whatsoever.
23:50
And he also asked for the same truck two days in a row, which is apparently abnormal. He told his boss that he had vomited in the back of his truck and he was afraid that the smell would persist and he didn't want the next driver to deal with it.
24:05
So, he wanted more time to clean it up. And so, he requested the same truck. We know now that he was cleaning up the blood from Athena that was in the back of the truck. But the truck was never searched when he went to this roadblock.
24:22
This scene, and I know I've heard multiple stories about how just emotional this was in the courtroom. And just you can only imagine how emotionally difficult it would be for the jurors and everyone in the courtroom to hear these videos and see the videos.
24:40
But the emotional weight, it's hard for investigators, but they have to maintain professionalism. Every person at the scene understands the magnitude of this loss. Following recovery, her body was transported to the medical examiner's office, and that's where they did an autopsy.
25:03
And the purpose of that is determine the cause of death, manner of death, and any contributing factor. So, this is going to involve an external examination, an internal examination, toxicology testing, and documentation of any visible injuries.
25:21
In this case, the medical examiner actually concluded that the cause of death was blunt horse trauma, smothering, and strangulation. The manner of death was ruled a homicide. And these findings, of course, were later presented in court as evidence.
25:39
Multiple mechanisms of death actually require very careful interpretation. Investigators examined the sequence of injuries, the severity of the trauma, and physiological effects on the body. They analyzed tissue damage and they analyzed airway obstruction and oxygen deprivation.
26:04
These details help establish how the death occurred and whether or not the injuries were intentional. I think I'm going to stop here and finish this in a second episode. I'm sure that you realize the heaviness of this case.
26:22
And I think the scariest part for all of us is to realize that we have kids and grandkids the same age as her. And those my age remember, the years of being on our bicycle, and riding miles away from home and trusting everybody and not having a cell phone.
26:43
And our parents just always trusted that we would be home before dark, like we were told. I just don't remember it happening very often where kids didn't come home when they were supposed to. There was just not, it wasn't that there wasn't crime, but you just don't hear of it like you do now.
27:01
I just felt so safe. I mean, I was in a small town. I felt like I was in a safe neighborhood. I didn't really feel any threats. I think I've told y'all the story before down the road where we had a family and one Halloween, they made the kids come in one at a time and they had to scream before they gave them Halloween candy.
27:22
To me, that was horrifying. I'm like, I don't care what they're giving away. I don't want a new puppy. I am hightailing at home, and I left my sister in there so fast. There is no way I'm going into a stranger's house and screaming for candy.
27:40
And of course, I had no idea what was happening. Today, that could never happen. I'm not going to say it wouldn't, but there is no way. I think most kids would be like, let's skip this house. I mean, I know I did, but I left my sister.
27:56
She was inside and I was like, audio. I'm leaving. I'm not sticking around to see what ends up in my candy bag because I could care less. Exploring the thing of the difference between the way things were then and the way things are now.
28:16
Like I said, it's just heartbreaking because when I heard the teacher talking about how they had been discussing fringe or danger in school and how Athena was very well aware and obviously so brave, when you listen to the questions that she asked him, it had to have been horrifying.
28:37
And she probably had no idea how evil people could really be. So, I want to go ahead and end this episode here and just continue this in the next episode so I can talk to you a little bit about the community grief and the national attention that this case has received.
29:00
I will look forward to talking to you next week and we'll finish covering this crime that shipper community. Thank you so much for joining me today on Pushing Up Lilies. If you like this podcast and would like to share with others, please do me a quick favor and leave a review on Apple Podcast.
29:20
This helps to make the podcast more visible to the public. Thanks again for spending your time with me and be sure to visit me at pushinguplilies.com for merchandise and past episodes.