Athena Strand’s grandfather said he forgave the FedEx driver accused of kidnapping and murdering his seven-year-old granddaughter in Texas after requesting “five minutes alone in a cell with the psychopath.”
Tanner Lynn Horner, a 30-year-old FedEx contract driver, is charged with capital murder and aggravated kidnapping in connection with Strand’s death. The man, who previously worked as an Uber driver before he was allegedly banned from the platform, was arrested Saturday on $1.5 million bail.
Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin described the kidnapping of the girl as a “crime of opportunity,” explaining that Horner allegedly admitted to kidnapping Strand while she was delivering a package to her home in North Texas. The girl’s stepmother reported her missing. Two days later, the girl’s body was found less than 10 miles from her father’s home. The suspect reportedly did not know the victim or the girl’s family.
“I can’t make my mind quiet and I have to share this. A friend asked me the other day if I believe that God speaks to people. I know he does, since he is speaking to me now,” the girl’s grandfather said. , Mark Strand, wrote in a heartbreaking tribute on Facebook on Saturday. “This flesh, this man that I am, is angry and I want 5 minutes alone in a cell with the psycho that took Athena from us, but there’s a soft, gentle voice in the back of my head telling me I need to forgive the.”
ATHENA STRAND: MISSING TEXAS GIRL FOUND DEAD, DELIVERY DRIVER IN CUSTODY ON MULTIPLE CHARGES
Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin said 7-year-old Athena Strand was found dead on Friday, December 2, 2022, days after she was abducted from her home.
(Wise County Sheriff’s Office)
“This flesh and blood man wants that psycho to burn in hell for all eternity, but that soft voice keeps telling me that I need to forgive him,” Grandpa continued. “This man of flesh hopes to remain blind and deaf to the message of salvation and never set foot in the very heaven in which I know in my heart my dear Athena now resides, and yet that soft voice lingers. Why do you ask “Because hate is a powerful force that will take root in your soul. God wants to protect us all from that hate. Hate is the gateway for the evil we see growing in the world today.”
“If you were to put that man in front of me right now, because of the hate that is trying to take root in my mind, I would probably kill him,” the older Strand wrote. “Then that hatred would take root in my heart and be destroyed. That soft voice is the Holy Spirit of God speaking to me right now. It is reminding me that my savior Jesus, voluntarily placed himself on a cross and died in my place. I would reconcile myself to God Father, but also that he did it for all of us, including this man that my flesh hates so much at this very moment.”
Authorities say the body of 7-year-old Athena Strand was found on Friday, December 2, 2022.
(Wise County Sheriff’s Office)
The grandfather’s post went on to say: “I am a sinful man, yet I have heard this voice before and I miss hearing this voice. If I allow this hate to consume me, that voice will fade and eventually be silenced. So that ugly spirit of hate it will have been successful and that is why this still small voice keeps telling me that I need to forgive this man. It is for my protection and my peace. It is to free me from this hatred and allow me to continue listening to the still voice of God.”
This undated photo from the Wise County Sheriff’s Office shows Tanner Lynn Horner. Horner, 31, was arrested Friday, Dec. 2, 2022, on kidnapping and murder charges after allegedly confessing to kidnapping a 7-year-old Texas girl and telling authorities where to find her body, according to the county sheriff. by Wise, Lane Akin.
(Wise County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
“There is not an ounce of my flesh that wants to do this or say this, but my spirit has heard the voice of God and right now, as tears well up in my eyes, I publicly declare that I forgive this man.” Strand stated.
“Hate will not win. I hope my family understands that I am not doing this for the sake of this man. I am doing it for the sake of my family and myself, and to honor the voice of God that is giving me strength.” to say this,” he said as he concluded his post. “I do this to honor our precious Athena who knew no hate. This man will not be allowed to live in my brain, he belongs to God and God’s justice will be done. Love conquers all and he forgives. Today, I choose Love and hate lose.”
A photo of Athena Strand, age 7, whose body was found on Friday, December 2, 2022.
(White Settlement Police Department)
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Horner did not appear to have a criminal record. The Uber spokesman did not explain to the newspaper why Horner was scheduled from the platform months ago.
A 23-year-old woman named Shay Marie reportedly claimed repeatedly on social media that Horner raped her in 2014 when she was 16. But it’s unclear if Horner was ever prosecuted.
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Strand was reportedly staying with her father and stepmother in Texas before returning to her mother, Maitlyn Gandy, in Oklahoma around Christmas. In a heartbreaking tribute of her own to her on Facebook, Gandy wrote: “Athena is innocent, beautiful, kind, intelligent and just the brightest, happiest soul you could ever meet.”
“I don’t want her to be the girl known as the one killed and discarded by a monster,” Gandy wrote. “I want everyone to know, every single person in this world, that this is my baby and my baby was taken from me.”
