Killer FedEx driver Tanner Horner revealed the chilling final words he said to 7-year-old Athena Strand before strangling her inside his delivery truck and dumping her body in a creek near her Texas home.

The twisted 34-year-old ordered the terrified girl into the back of his truck, telling her he’d take her to the hospital after abducting Athena from her Paradise home while delivering her Christmas present on Nov. 30, 2022, according to police interview footage played in court Thursday.

“Just get in the back of the van, we’re going to the hospital,” Horner told investigators of their final exchange, while denying that he had killed Athena.

Tanner Horner, a bald man with a beard, walks into the courtroom wearing a dress shirt and tie.
Horner, 34, ordered the terrified girl into the back of his truck, telling her he’d take her to the hospital after abducting her.The Dallas Morning News via Getty Images
Instead, he claimed his alter ego “Zero” was the one who murdered the little girl.

The sicko told police he accidentally hit Athena with his truck and claimed he tried to calm her down — but when he failed, his sinister shadow self “took over.”

Horner insisted it was “Zero” — not he — who demanded that the 67-pound child get into his truck before strangling her, stripping her clothes off and dumping her body in the Trinity River, where she was found two days later.

Athena Strand, a young girl with long blonde hair and a red bow headband, smiling at the camera.
Horner claimed that his other personality “took over” when he strangled little Athena Strand after kidnapping her from outside her house.Family Handout
There is also evidence that the deviant sexually assaulted the girl either before or after he killed her.

“I didn’t do it, but he did, and that’s what f–ks with me,” Horner told police following his arrest.

“I’m wondering who the hell’s been in my head this whole time.”

Photo of Athena Strand inside Tanner Horner's FedEx truck on the day she was kidnapped.
CCTV footage showing Athena Strand inside Tanner Horner’s FedEx truck.FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth

 

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Horner unexpectedly pleaded guilty on Tuesday to the heinous slaying just as his murder trial was set to kick off.

A Texas jury has since heard harrowing testimony to determine whether he will be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole.

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