Murdered Athena Strand's father sues FedEx and their delivery person who killed his 7-year-old daughter
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DALLAS, TEXAS: Athena Strand's father, Jacob Strand, has filed a $1 million lawsuit against FedEx and the defendant, Tanner Lynn Horner, also known as Tanner Horner. Horner abducted and strangled 7-year-old Athena outside of Dallas in November.
On November 30, Athena vanished from the Wise County house where her father lived; her body was found two days later. The 31-year-old Horner claimed to have accidentally run over Athena with his truck, "panicked," and then strangled her to death. In the latest case filed, Jacob also lists FedEx's contractor, Big Topspin, who hired Horner, as a defendant. Despite the fact that Horner wasn't an employee of FedEx directly, the complaint claims that the shipping company placed "dangerous persons in a position of trust" with respect to Horner. FedEx is charged in another section with exerting "significant control" of people who come to their customer's homes.
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Jacob claimed neither FedEx nor Topspin conducted a thorough background investigation on the suspect. Horner's criminal past is unknown. The lawsuit claims that Topspin provides service to the region where Strand was last seen, that FedEx owns the van the suspect was operating, and that the suspect was permitted to wear the company's uniform.
