Killer FedEx driver Tanner Horner was “flat” and appeared “unfazed” after he kidnapped and murdered little Athena Strand, his pastor revealed to jurors on Monday.
The lead pastor, identified solely as “Gary,” recounted how Horner specifically requested to meet with him in 2022 following his arrest for the 7-year-old girl’s murder.
Horner requested a specific Bible that Gary tried to provide for him, but appeared calm and did not say anything about what he had done to Athena, the pastor said, while adding that he hadn’t asked.
Gary said that he tried to get Horner to understand the severity of what he was accused of and how his life would never be the same again.
“I met with him, and I just wanted to make sure he was OK and wanted to make sure he understood, you know, really what had happened, because with his autism, and I don’t know what range of the spectrum he was, but connecting things together was… sometimes you had to really help him connect that,” Gary told the jury.
“As a pastor, we don’t always get to do the easy things. We do what we’re called to do,” he added.
Under cross-examination, Gary admitted that he knew now that Horner had not told him the truth about what happened.
“All I knew at that time was what had been out. That is, he was driving for, I think, FedEx and had hit Athena, panicked, and then did what he did. That’s all I knew,” Gary said.
“You know now that that’s not what happened,” the prosecution asked Gary, who responded, “Yes, sir.”
Gary testified for the defense at Horner’s death penalty trial. Horner has already admitted to murdering Athena, but his lawyers are saying he deserves life in prison and not the death penalty.
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