Father of Slain Athena Strand Files Lawsuit Against Suspect, FedEx, and 3rd-Party Contractor

Tanner Lynn Horner. Wise County Sheriff's Office via AP

The father of slain 7-year-old Athena Strand has filed a lawsuit against the delivery driver suspected of killing the girl, FedEx Ground, and Big TopSpin, the third-party contractor who hired the suspect.

Jacob Strand is seeking more than $1 million in damages in a jury trial, according to the lawsuit filed in the Wise County District Court on Tuesday (pdf).

Strand’s daughter Athena went missing on Nov. 30 from her family’s home in Paradise, Texas, a rural community about 40 miles northwest of Fort Worth.

Two days later, according to the arrest warrant affidavit, Tanner Horner, a FedEx driver who delivered a package to the home about the time Athena disappeared, allegedly admitted he killed the girl. Horner, 31, led authorities to her body in the nearby town of Boyd.

The suspect told police that he accidentally hit the young girl while backing up but that she was not seriously injured, adding that he “panicked and put Athena in the van.” A video recovered from the vehicle showed Horner and Athena talking inside the vehicle. He said she told him her name was Athena.

Horner said he killed her because she was going to tell her father that the FedEx driver hit her with his truck, the documents said. He told police that he tried to break her neck, but when that didn’t work, he strangled her inside the van.

Horner has no known prior criminal history, according to authorities.

The lawsuit accuses FedEx and Big TopSpin of negligence in properly investigating Horner’s criminal history, mental health history, and prior employment.

It also states that “FedEx delivery drivers have recently committed numerous assaults, rapes, and murders across the country.”

FedEx acknowledged the lawsuit in a statement to The Epoch Times but provided no further information regarding the complaint.

“Our thoughts remain with the family of Athena Strand in the wake of this tragedy,” the company said. “We are aware of the complaint filed against FedEx Ground.”

Big TopSpin assisted in the arrest of Horner, according to the arrest warrant, but it has not yet commented on Athena’s death.

The address listed in the documents for Big TopSpin is a four-bedroom home in Dallas.

WFAA News attempted to speak with the owner of the company. A woman at the home confirmed her husband is the owner of Big TopSpin and that she could not comment about Horner or Athena.

Horner Was Delivering Gift for Athena

Maitlyn Gandy, Athena’s mother, who lives in Oklahoma, told reporters the package Horner had delivered was a Christmas gift for her daughter. The package contained a box of “You Can Be Anything” Barbie dolls, she said last week outside the Wise County Courthouse in Decatur.

Gandy’s attorney, Benson Verghese of Verghese Sumersett in Fort Worth, stated that he would be conducting a “thorough investigation” to uncover any action or inaction that led to Athena’s death.

“We’re essentially leaving no stone unturned and looking at all the decisions that had to have happened for this tragedy to occur,” Verghese said during the press conference.

Athena had been living with her father and stepmother during the fall semester. She was planning to return to Oklahoma after the Christmas break.

“Now, instead, Athena will be cremated, and she will come home in an urn because I’m not even, not anywhere close to being ready to let my baby go,” Gandy said.

Horner is charged with aggravated kidnapping and capital murder of a person under 10 years of age. He remains jailed in Wise County with a bond set at $1.5 million.