Athena Strand's mother takes the stand in Tanner Horner's murder trial sentencing

Athena Strand's mother, Maitlyn Gandy, took the stand Wednesday afternoon, facing her daughter's killer in one of the most emotional moments of the trial so far, telling the courtroom and Tanner Horner that Athena is more than a headline and more than a story.

Horne pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping last week, just moments before the trial was to begin. Despite his guilty plea, Horner still faces the death penalty, which prosecutors are pursuing.

On Nov. 30, 2022, Horner was working as a delivery driver for a FedEx contractor when he went to the girl's Wise County home to deliver a package that contained a Christmas gift. He accidentally struck Strand with his truck while backing out of the driveway. She was not seriously injured, but Horner said he panicked, placed her into his van and strangled her out of fear that she would tell her father what had happened.

Police tracked down Horner through digital evidence that day. Two days later, authorities found Strand's body about 9 miles away from her home, southeast of Boyd.

"Athena loved everything; she loved life."

Wearing pink, Athena's favorite color, Gandy said she gave birth to Athena when she was 19 years old, and Jacob Strand was 23. 

"She was the perfect mixture of me and Jacob," said Gancy. "She loved to wear her pretty princess dresses, but at the same time, she would play in the dirt in the same pretty princess dresses. She was free, and she was wild, and she was bright, and she was loving. She wanted to love and be loved, and that's it."  

She said that although she lived in Oklahoma, she and Jacob Strand co-parented "pretty dang well, as long as Athena's needs were met and she was happy, that was important to him and I."  

"There is no doubt whatsoever that every single person who has ever met Athena absolutely loved Athena," Gandy said. "[Except] the defendant in this case. I would like to think that he doesn't love her."  

Gandy said that when she found out that Athena was missing, she was in her house and her phone had died, so Jacob Strand called her little sister, who called her older sister, who "came banging on the door like the house was on fire and she said Athena's missing." 

"I said, 'No, she's not,' so I got my phone, and Jacob's name popped up," said Gandy.

She said the normal drive from her home in Oklahoma to Athena's in Wise County was about a 2-hour drive. That day, she made it in 45 minutes, even though she had to stop for gas in Comanche.

Gandy described walking county roads, ponds and property over and over again, searching for Athena.

"She was so cold, and she didn't like the cold."    

When she received the tragic news that her daughter's body had been found, the sheriff told Gandy that she shouldn't confirm it was Athena's body "because she looks too bad."  

Gandy said she did see Athena on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, around 8 a.m. with her dad.

"Her ears were messed up, and she had incision lines, and her chin was scraped up," Gandy said as she cried on the witness stand. "So we put her in a hospital gown because I didn't have clothes for her, and she was naked. And I searched her body, and then we did her makeup so Jacob wouldn't have to see the discoloration and how bad it was ... She was so cold, and she didn't like the cold."

Mom seeks answers

Gandy said she read Horner's arrest affidavit, discovering he said that he hit her daughter with his FedEx truck, panicked and tried to break her neck; that it didn't work, so he strangled her. She said that she also drove from Oklahoma to look at the autopsy when it first came out, before it was released to the public.

She said what stood out to her was that there were no items of personal belongings listed with Athena. 

"That the only thing with her was the bags around her hands, Gandy said. "I knew that meant she didn't have anything on her when she was found."

Gandy said she doesn't believe that Horner will ever tell the truth about what happened, but she wants to know one thing.

"I know he will never tell the truth, but I want to know where my daughter's shirt is," she said on the witness stand through tears. "But he won't tell me that, and I highly doubt he cared enough to pay attention to when my daughter took her last breath."  

Mom's vow in court: Athena Strand was loved and won't be forgotten  

When her lawyer asked her why she is in court every day, Gandy said it's because her daughter was and is loved.

"Because I had to cover up a handprint on my daughter's neck," said Gandy. "She's not just a story, she's not just a number. She's not just a headline. She was loved. She is loved, and she is missed, and she was real, and she had a life, and she wanted to live.
"No one can take that from her and I will be her face and her voice and make sure every person in the world knows she was loved and wanted to live and that we wanted her in our lives."

"Athena is in my life every day," Gandy said. "I talk to her every day. I tell her that I'm sorry that I wasn't there to protect her and to stop him. I tell her that I love her and about my attorney and how y'all are working really hard to make she's not forgotten and that we'll get justice for her."  

Horner's defense attorney said he had no questions for cross-examination and told Gandy he was sorry for her loss.