Testimony, DNA evidence, search history for "missing girl" shape sentencing phase in Tanner Horner trial

On the sixth day of the sentencing phase of Tanner Horner's trial, new witness testimony is painting a broader picture of who jurors are now being asked to judge. 

Horner faces the possibility of the death penalty after pleading guilty to kidnapping and killing Athena Strand in 2022. He was a FedEx driver when he took Athena while delivering a package to her family's home in Wise County.

Prosecutors appear to be expanding this case beyond what happened to Athena, to what they want jurors to believe about the defendant himself.

Tuesday morning began with digital evidence, including Internet searches by Horner in the days after Athena was killed. By midafternoon, jurors were hearing deeply personal testimony from two women who say Horner sexually assaulted them when they were minors. Their testimonies changed the courtroom completely.

The women are not being identified.  

Jurors first heard from a woman who testified she met Horner through mutual friends in 2013 when she was 16 and he was 22. She told the court he asked her to lie about her age, and described two incidents of alleged sexual assault.

"I felt guilt about not coming forward, shame for not coming forward sooner," one of the women testified. "I felt pain reliving those moments over and over and over again..."

The first woman testified that she was assaulted by Horner twice, saying on both occasions she was intoxicated and not coherent and woke up to sexual activity.

A second woman then testified, saying she met Horner when she was 14-years-old and also accused him of alleged sexual assault. She said he had already graduated from high school at that time.  

She said they met through mutual friends and that she attended small band shows at TomKats, where Horner performed in a band.

The woman testified that she told Horner she could not be in a relationship with someone 7 years older than her and denied any romantic interest in him. 

She also said Horner attempted physical contact and she told him she did not want to be touched. She testified that she woke up later to being sexually assaulted. She described going in and out of consciousness and said she was physically unable to push him away due to their difference in size.

She said Horner made a second attempt the following morning. She said Horner would not give the address of the home they were at when she tried to get help from friends. She also described him blocking her access and pacing the room. Eventually, she was able to get outside, got the address from the mail and hid in a bathroom until a friend picked her up.

Prosecutors used this testimony to suggest a broader pattern, while the defense challenged the women's credibility.    

Experts testify about digital evidence, repeated searches for "missing girl"

Jurors also viewed Horner's search history, including photos he accessed and his history on apps like Facebook and WhatsApp.
A lot of his search history around that time was about Athena Strand.

Digital forensic examiner Scott Morris said that on Dec. 1 and 2 of 2022, Horner refreshed that earlier search to "My fiance's family makes me out to be a demon" and "Do FedEx truck cameras constantly record?"  

Horner also searched for "Paradise missing girl" and looked at multiple photos and missing posters of Athena, as well as photos of the search for Athena.

The defense argued that some of those searches could have been from before the murder and been an open tab on his phone already. They also said he could have just seen and interacted with posts of Athena on Facebook and other apps, since it was big news at the time, that he might not have directly searched them out. 

DNA evidence presented as jurors hear forensic testimony

Jurors ended the day hearing about lab findings that prosecutors may argue directly support what happened to Athena.

Jacqueline Ferrara, a Garland Police Department forensic biology and DNA analyst, testified remotely, explaining how evidence in this case was collected and tested at a Texas Department of Public Safety crime lab in early 2023.

The jury heard that samples from Athena's sexual assault kit tested positive for male DNA, while other results were inconclusive.

She also walked through the testing process and told jurors that Horner's clothing collected showed the presence of blood and other biological evidence. 

That forensic evidence is now part of what jurors will consider as they determine what happened.