HORRIFYING bodycam footage shows the FedEx delivery driver who murdered a seven-year-old girl switching between alter ego personalities.
Jurors watched the video in a Texas courtroom and heard details about how Athena Strand fought for her life in the back of the delivery truck before she was strangled to death and stripped naked.
Athena Strand went missing from her Fort Worth home in November 2022Credit: WFAA TV
Tanner Horner was shown in bodycam footage speaking as his alter ego ZeroCredit: FOX 4
Tanner Horner, 34, pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and murder of the Fort Worth girl, but claimed that his alter ego named “Zero” committed the killing on November 30, 2022.
He told cops he accidentally hit her with his van and that when he couldn’t calm her down, his other personality, “Zero,” took over.
Horner claimed that it was Zero who strangled her, stripped her naked and dumped her body in Trinity River, where she was found two days later.
Jurors are now determining whether he should receive the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
On Thursday, they were shown chilling bodycam footage of cops asking Horner where he disposed of her clothing after he killed her.
In the clip he switched to his ulterior personality and said he found the discarding of the child’s clothing “funny.”
The FedEx driver has pleaded guilty to her murder and is now on trial to determine his punishmentCredit: Wise County Jail
“Are you saying you stripped her naked and threw her clothes out the window on the highway?” an officer is heard asking.
“I thought it was funny,” Horner replied.
“Did you take all her clothes off of her? Shirts, pants, panties – everything?” the officer asked.
“Mm-hmm,” the killed replied.
The officers then started addressing him as “Zero,” after finding him more receptive, and asked what she was wearing when he took her.
“No jacket, no shoes,” he replied.
“So did you hit her before you dropped the package? I’m sorry, did Tanner hit her before the package was dropped off, or after?” an officer said, as he tried to get a clear picture of what happened.
“Do you want to talk to him?” Horner replied, referring to himself.
“No, I want to talk to Zero. I want to talk to you. Because you’re being more honest, you’re more helpful,” the officer said.
When asked about the abduction, Horner claimed he told Athena they were “going for a ride” and denied that she tried to fight him.
Investigators have said that Horner repetedly changed his story and knew he was lying when questioned about removing her underwear.
Killer’s sick last words to Athena
As part of the trial, jurors have also been shown police interview footage of Horner recalling his last words to the girl before carrying out the brutal murder.
Chillingly, they likely offered her a glimmer of hope that she was going to survive.
Athena fought back against her kidnapper and killer, prosecutors detailed in harrowing court remarksCredit: NBC 5 News
“Just get in the back of the van, we’re going to the hospital,” he told investigators of their last exchange.
During this particular questioning, he denied he murdered the child.
As well as harrowing footage, jurors have listened to numerous testimonials including from Texas Ranger Job Espinoza, lead investigator.
He testified to the grim details of the case in court, noting Horner’s changing accounts of the murder.
Espinoza recalled asking Horner, “Did she scream?” to which he replied, “wasn’t able to.”
Another gruesome detail heard by the court was that Athena was likely sexually assaulted after cops found Horner’s DNA in “places where you shouldn’t find DNA on a seven-year-old girl.”
“I’m going to tell you right now. One thing you’re going to hear that is something you can’t unhear is the level of fight that a 7-year-old girl has. When she’s facing down a certain death,” Wise County District Attorney James Stainton told the court.
When asked by Espinoza if he was sorry for what he had done, Horner got emotional and said, “I’m a father.”
“All I want is to spend one last Christmas with my son, and I’ll tell you everything.”
His defense says he suffers from brain damage, mental illness, autism and extreme lead exposure.
The trial to determine Horner’s punishment is set to continue with more testimonies throughout the day on Friday.
A woman has also separately claimed Horner sexually assaulted her as a teenager in 2013, according to an arrest affidavit.
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