'Every breath he takes is one my daughter doesn't': Athena Strand's mother wants death penalty for killer
WISE COUNTY, TEXAS: Athena Strand's mother, Maitlyn Gandy, wants the death penalty for her daughter's killer. Athena, 7, was strangled to death by Tanner Horner, 31, in the back of his delivery truck two weeks ago. In her first televised appearance, Gandy went into great detail about how her family has managed to get through the past two weeks.
Rilyn, Athena's three-year-old sister, longs for her to return home and seems to not yet fully understand what has happened to her sibling, according to the horrifying revelations the mother provided. On November 30, Athena disappeared from the Wise County house where her father lived; her body was found two days later. Horner admitted to unintentionally hitting Strand with his truck. He then "panicked," and strangled her as a result.
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'Mommy is broken without you': Athena Strand's mom pays heartbreaking tribute to slain little girl
If and when a trial occurs, Gandy hopes the prosecution will push for Horner's execution. The death penalty is legal in Texas, however, only two persons were given the death penalty in 2022. "I support the death penalty. In any sentencing that may come," Gandy told WFAA. "Every breath he takes is one my daughter doesn't. If I could sit down in front of him, I would tell him that he is nothing, but that Athena is absolutely everything, and I will make sure that everybody in this world knows that he is nothing and that she is everything."