Texas FedEx driver accused of murdering 7-year-old girl faces unrelated sexual assault of a child charges

A FedEx driver accused of abducting and murdering a 7-year-old girl on Nov. 30 was charged with three counts of sexual assault of a child in a separate case this week, according to Wise County jail records. 

Tanner Lynn Horner, 31, was already jailed on charges of capital murder and aggravated kidnapping. 

Sheriff Lane Akin told the Wise County Messenger that the new sexual assault charges are unrelated to the murder case. Court records out of Tarrant County show that Horner is set to make an initial appearance for the new charges on Jan. 5, 2023. 

In the murder case, Horner told investigators that he backed into 7-year-old Athena Strand with his van as he was delivering a package at her house in Paradise, a small town about 60 miles northwest of Dallas.

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He said that he panicked and put her in his van, then strangled her because he didn’t want the girl to tell her dad what happened, according to an arrest warrant. 

Strand was found dead on Dec. 2 and Horner was booked into the Wise County jail in the early hours of Dec. 3. 

He is being held on a combined $1.5 million bond for the murder and kidnapping charges. Each sexual assault charge has a $15,000 bond. 

Prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty in Strand’s murder. Jail and court records did not list an attorney who could speak on Horner’s behalf. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.