Editor’s Note: This story was updated on April 13, 2026, to reflect new testimony from Horner’s trial. Athena Strand’s stepmother thought she was simply hiding when the 7-year-old disappeared from their home in rural Texas on November 30, 2022. Now, a former delivery driver has admitted to kidnapping young Athena and then killing her. Tanner Horner pleaded guilty in a Tarrant County, Texas, courthouse on April 7 to aggravated kidnapping and capital murder in Strand’s death. His trial is ongoing, and Horner now faces either life in prison or the death penalty. Jurors will now consider more testimony and evidence as they weigh Horner’s fate. Here’s what we know about Strand’s murder and what’s happened in the case so far. Who Is Tanner Horner? Horner was 31 at the time of his arrest, placing his current age around 34, according to NBC 5 . Little is known about his early life. According to police, Horner resided near Lake Worth, Texas, and didn’t appear to have any criminal history.…