Athena Strand’s mother revealed the final heartbreaking words she told her 7-year-old daughter in emotional testimony while staring down the monster FedEx driver who kidnapped and murdered her.
Maitlyn Gandy, who glared at her daughter’s convicted killer from stand on Wednesday, was asked by prosecutors if she recalled what she said to Athena when she was off at her father’s house for a visit in 2022 — the last time she would see her alive.
“I told her that I loved her and that I would see her on Friday,” Gandy, wearing Athena’s favorite color pink with dyed hair to match, told jurors at a sentencing hearing, Fox 4 News reported.
“We had a quick drop-off because her daddy was going to take them to the Christmas lights.”
Former FedEx driver Tanner Horner, 34, is awaiting his fate as the jury mulls whether or not to sentence him to death or life in prison after he pleaded guilty to kidnapping and murdering little Athena just before his trial was slated to begin.
Athena had been outside her home when Horner showed up for the delivery and abducted her — and footage from inside his FedEx truck showed him driving off with the girl in tow.
Her naked body was found days later.
The hulking delivery driver — who was over 200 pounds at the time — told the court he initially tried to break Athena’s neck to kill her, but that it didn’t work so he strangled her with his bare hands instead.
Here’s the latest on killer FedEx driver who murdered 7-year-old Athena Strand:
- Twisted FedEx killer allegedly raped underage girls years before murdering 7-year-old Athena Strand
- Mom of killer FedEx driver Tanner Horner’s haunting reaction in jailhouse call after she asked about Athena Strand
- Killer FedEx driver Tanner Horner wrote note to 7-year-old victim Athena Strand’s family: ‘She didn’t deserve it’
- FedEx driver Tanner Horner made outrageous request to cops after killing 7-year-old Athena Strand
- Killer FedEx driver blames alter ego ‘Zero’ for 7-year-old Athena Strand’s murder — thought it was a ‘nightmare’
- Killer FedEx driver Tanner Horner reveals chilling final words to Athena Strand, 7, before savagely murdering her
Gandy described to the court the harrowing moment she was brought into the morgue to identify Athena’s battered corpse.
“When I got to her, she was so cold, and she didn’t like the cold, so I wanted to make sure that she was dressed,” Gandy said. “I wanted to make sure she had one of her bows. So I got her some bows.”
Just as hard, she said, was having to explain the horror to Athena’s 3-year-old sister — who the family decided to keep in the dark about the truth until last year.
“I didn’t know how to tell her, and I didn’t think I was strong enough to tell her. So I lied to her for a long time,” the mom revealed.
“I would tell her that she was just staying with her daddy for a little bit longer. And when she asked to FaceTime or to call her, I would tell her that she was at school or she was sleeping,” Gandy said. “Until about a year ago, she didn’t know the whole truth.”
It remains unclear if Athena was sexually assaulted, but prosecutors said Horner’s DNA was found “in places where you shouldn’t find DNA on a 7-year-old girl.”
Horner’s defense has argued he has Aspergers syndrome and should therefore be spared the death penalty.
His sentencing hearing will continue Thursday.
