'Mommy is broken without you': Athena Strand's mom pays heartbreaking tribute to slain little girl

'Mommy is broken without you': Athena Strand's mom pays heartbreaking tribute to slain little girl
Athena Strand's mother, Maitlyn Presley Gandy, paid a heartbreaking tribute to her daughter days after she was murdered (Maitlyn Presley Gandy/Facebook)

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WISE COUNTY, TEXAS: Murdered Athena Strand's mother paid a heartbreaking tribute to her daughter days after she was abducted and murdered by 31-year-old FedEx driver Tanner Lynn Horner. Strand was reported missing from her Texas home on November 30. The next day, cops identified Horner as a suspect after an AMBER alert was issued. However, Strand's body was discovered on December 2 by Wise County police and the FBI about six miles from her house.

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"Her name is Athena Presley Monroe Strand. She was perfect from her creation. She was born perfect and too beautiful. Daddy and mommy were scared of how beautiful she has always been and we feel like we failed you. No one deserves what happened to you, but especially you. I love you and love doesn’t even cover it. Mommy is broken without you," Athena's mother Maitlyn Presley Gandy wrote on Facebook.