Courtroom Fury: Tanner Horner’s final message to the victim’s family triggered anger throughout the courtroom

FedEx’s third-party contractor helped identify Horner as the delivery driver

As Espinoza and his team began looking into the Barbie dolls, he shared that investigators with the FBI learned the box had been delivered by FedEx through a third-party contractor called Big Topspin, a Dallas-based delivery contractor.

When investigators contacted Big Topspin to get more information on the driver and vehicle, they were able to identify Horner, per CBS News. (According to The New York Times, former Wise County sheriff Lane Akin also said that a tip helped identify Horner.)

Espinoza then interviewed Horner, who was able to provide a detailed description of a supposed older green Astro Van, which was missing a lower panel on the driver’s door and was leaving from her home around the time he supposedly made his delivery, per CBS News.

“As we moved forward in the investigation, there were some key things that stuck out to me,” he said. “The driver, Tanner Horner, had made very detailed statements about a green van. So obviously, we have to act on any information we get.”

According to the outlet, Espinoza said that an alert was sent out across Texas for the supposed van, and that Horner’s information also prompted investigators to look into cell tower data to see which mobile devices were in the area at the time of Strand’s disappearance.

Espinoza further shared that the details prompted him to ask about any surveillance footage from the FedEx van itself. “I’m like ‘Hey, do they have video, maybe we can see a license plate on the video,’ ” he recalled, per CBS News.

Investigators found video footage from inside Horner’s truck

During the sentencing trial, Espinoza said that he and his team reached out to Velociter, the company in charge of camera software used inside FedEx trucks. Velociter was then able to provide them with two short video clips from inside Horner’s truck, Espinoza said.

Law enforcement was already moving to detain Horner on Dec. 2, 2022, when they were provided the clips. He arrived soon after Horner was detained and spoke to him about what was shown on the video clips he viewed.

“I saw that Athena was alive, and that she was placed in that FedEx van by Mr. Horner,” Espinoza said during trial, adding, “and based on what I was seeing, it was exigent, and I felt that there was a possibility that Athena was still alive, and we needed to bring her home.”

Espinoza shared during trial that the video showed the FedEx driver placing Strand into the van on Nov. 30, 2022. He added that the van Horner was in when he was detained was not the same one that he was in when Strand was abducted. However, Wise County Sheriff’s Office was able to secure the one Horner used on Nov. 30, 2022, after they contacted BigTopspin.

Horner confessed to the killing, but told a fabricated story about what happened

Investigators were still hoping Strand was alive, but did not locate her after searching the truck Horner was driving when Strand was abducted, as well as the young girl’s family home.

After Espinoza got Horner in an interview room, he ultimately confessed to the crime, though told police he accidentally hit the young girl while backing up in his delivery truck, according to an arrest warrant affidavit reviewed by NBC DFW.

Horner told investigators that he panicked and put the young girl into his van, where she had been talking to him. Horner said that he strangled Strand out of fear she would tell her father about being hit by the truck.

During the April 2026 trial, however, jurors watched footage from the day of Strand’s murder, which ultimately contradicted his account of events. In the surveillance footage, Horner could be seen pulling up to Strand’s house, walking back to his truck with the young girl behind him and the door opening with her standing alongside him, per NBC 5. Just seconds later, Horner lifted Strand into his truck and drove off.

Footage showed Strand kneeling in the back of Horner’s FedEx truck, asking him, “Are you a kidnapper?” per NBC DFW, who noted that Horner then ordered her to sit down and not scream or he would hurt her.

According to the outlet, Horner covered up the camera but the recording still captured audio of the kidnapping and murder, including him asking Strand to take off her shirt, to which she said no and asked for her mother.

The audio continued for more than an hour, and included Strand then crying, screaming and banging, per NBC DFW. (The medical examiner said Strand died from blunt force trauma, smothering and strangulation.)

Horner helped lead authorities to her body

Espinoza shared that when he got Horner in an interview room, his second question for the driver was, “Where’s she at?” per CBS News. Espinoza said Horner’s answer was, “I can show you,” prompting Espinoza to ask a follow-up question, “Is she alive?”

Eventually, Horner cooperated and led authorities to Strand’s body, which was found on a part of the Trinity River known as Bobo’s Crossing, per NBC DFW.

Strand had been naked when she was found, and prosecutors indicated that there was DNA evidence of sexual assault, according to Fox4News.

Horner was then arrested and charged with capital murder and aggravated kidnapping in connection with Strand’s killing. On May 5, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death.