Photo shows Athena Strand being driven to her death by FedEx driver

A nightmarish photo shows a seven-year-old girl being driven to her death by a FedEx driver who abducted and killed her while delivering her Christmas present.

Seven-year-old Athena Strand was seen standing behind Tanner Horner in the picture released by prosecutors on Tuesday, after the 34-year-old pled guilty to capital murder just before his trial was due to begin.

Athena looked concerned in the black-and-white photo, taken on the day she was strangled in November 2022, with Horner concentrating on the road in front of him.

He snatched the youngster while delivering a Barbie to her home that was to be one of her main festive gifts. Horner told investigators that he accidentally hit the girl with his truck, 'panicked,' grabbed her, and put her in his vehicle. 

Fearing what would happen if he told Strand's parents, he said he strangled her inside the truck and dumped her body seven miles from her home, beside a country road. Her body was found two days later. 

But the new photograph has seemingly demolished the killer's claim that he struck the girl accidentally and drove off with her body.

Horner, who previously denied killing Strand, pled guilty to capital murder of a child under 10 and aggravated kidnapping on Tuesday.

The case has now been sent to the punishment phase, meaning a jury must decide whether he will be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole.

State District Judge George Gallagher asked Horner to stand as he was arraigned at the start of his trial on Tuesday.

The charges of capital murder of a child under 10 and aggravated kidnapping were read out and Horner was asked how he intended to plead.

'Guilty, your honor,' he said.

The trial will continue as normal but the guilt-innocence phase will be skipped. The jury instead will be tasked with determining the killer's sentence. 

'Now your sole duty will be to listen to all of the evidence that is going to be presented to you, because you will be using that evidence to determine the proper punishment to be assessed,' Gallagher told the jurors.

Under Texas law, capital murder of a person under 10 years old qualifies Horner for the death penalty. 

During their opening remarks on Tuesday, prosecutors told the jury how Horner concocted a 'web of lies' throughout the investigation into Strand's death.

Wise County District Attorney James Stainton warned that the jury would be shown video from the day of the killing, which allegedly depicts the moment she was strangled to death.

Although the camera was covered during the murder, Stainton said audio was still captured by the device. 

'Somebody covered up the camera because they don't want you to see. Guess what? Audio is still running, and you're going to hear it. You're going to hear what a 250-pound man can do to a 67-pound child,' he told the court.

'And when I say it's horrible, I mean it. I've been doing this [for] 25 years, and I promise you, buckle up.' 

The prosecutor went on to argue that Horner repeatedly lied to investigators and that the 'only truthful thing' he told police was that he killed the little girl. 

'The pattern and web of lies that he put together, it's going to be hard for y'all to keep up with. It is lie upon lie, upon lie, upon lie,' Stainton told the court.

'What's the story that was told in the beginning? That he hit her with the truck? That he somehow freaked out because he thought he was going to lose his job, or she was going to tell on him. He picked her up, still freaked out and killed her. 

'That is an absolute lie. There is no truth to that in any form or fashion. None. Zero. ZIP. Not of nudge. No truth to that whatsoever.'

Stainton went on to claim that when police first asked Horner if Strand was alive, he told the officer: 'She wasn't alive when I put her in the truck.'

'I'll tell you right now, you're going to see right up front here. She was very much alive and very much uninjured when he put her in the truck,' the prosecutor added. 

The defense, however, pointed to Horner's physical and mental illnesses in their opening remarks.

They told the jury how he was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome at a young age and was exposed to lead during his developmental years.

'You don't have to be a scientist or doctor to know that lead has terrible effects on the brain,' defense attorney Steven Goble told the court.

Goble admitted the evidence against his client is overwhelming and urged the jury to consider Horner's voluntary guilty plea as they determine his punishment.

He argued life in prison without parole is 'a terrible punishment' enough and asked the jury to choose that instead of execution.

Horner was arrested on December 2, 2022, the same day Strand's body was found. 

He allegedly confessed to police that he abducted and kidnapped the child during a delivery to her family's home.

On February 17, 2023, a jury in Wise County formally charged Horner with kidnapping and murdering the young girl.

On top of the murder charge, Horner was charged with sexually assaulting a child almost a decade ago and faces three additional counts of sexually abusing a child in 2013 in Fort Worth. 

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Horner's attorneys have previously argued that his autism diagnosis should bar him from the death penalty. 

In a motion to dispel the death penalty that was filed in January this year, his lawyers said: 'Mr Horner's autism spectrum disorder (ASD) reduces his moral blameworthiness, negates the retributive and deterrent purposes of capital punishment, and exposes him to the unacceptable risk that he will be wrongfully sentenced to death.

Strand's mother, Maitlyn Gandy, has vehemently supported the death penalty for her daughter's killer.

Gandy released a statement after Horner was indicted - expressing her love for her daughter, and support of capital punishment. 

She said at the time: 'I would like to thank the Wise County grand jury for their role in this process. Hearing the facts and circumstances of my seven-year-old daughter's kidnapping and murder was undoubtedly very difficult for them.'

'I want them to know that their work is deeply appreciated,' Gandy added.

'I appreciate everyone's continued support and for keeping Athena's name and memory alive. Please take a moment to hug your children and loved ones. No one is promised another day.'

'I support the death penalty. In any sentencing that may come,' she told WFAA. 'Every breath he takes is one my daughter doesn't.

'If I could sit down in front of him, I would tell him that he is nothing, but that Athena is absolutely everything - and I will make sure that everybody in this world knows that he is nothing and that she is everything.'

Strand's father, Jacob, launched legal action against FedEx in 2022, claiming they did not carry out sufficient background checks before hiring Horner.

A spokesman for the company said after Strand's death: 'We share in the collective grief surrounding this heartbreaking tragedy and our thoughts remain with the family of Athena Strand. We continue to cooperate fully with the investigating authorities.'

The Daily Mail has approached FedEx for comment.