A forensic psychiatrist testified that confessed child murderer Tanner Horner believed he made a “deal with the devil” by killing 7-year-old Athena Strand to save his career following a delivery accident.
FedEx driver Tanner Horner reportedly claimed he had made a “deal with the devil” by murdering 7-year-old Athena Strand, comparing his actions to the film American Satan where characters commit human sacrifices for success. Testifying in a Fort Worth courtroom on Wednesday, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Eileen Ryan told the jury that Horner viewed the killing as a “catastrophic moral trade,” believing that “by taking Athena’s life, he was ‘saving’ his own life and career” after accidentally hitting her with his delivery truck.
While Ryan noted that Horner’s diagnoses of Asperger’s, ADHD, and bipolar disorder contributed to a “rigid, black-and-white thinking” where he felt his world would end if he did not kill the child, she clarified that these conditions were not the cause of the crime. Under cross-examination, Ryan admitted Horner maintained the capacity to plan and hide evidence, as the jury now weighs whether the confessed killer will face the death penalty or life in prison for the 2022 kidnapping and murder.