In one of the most disturbing moments yet from the capital murder trial of Tanner Horner, jurors in Fort Worth heard raw audio from jailhouse phone calls the convicted FedEx driver made to his mother shortly after his arrest for the 2022 kidnapping and killing of 7-year-old Athena Strand.

The recordings, played in court on April 13 and 14, 2026, during the punishment phase, captured Horner’s mother confronting him about the horrific crime. In one exchange, she asked point-blank whether he had done anything sexual to the little girl. “Tanner, I just hope you didn’t do nothing weird to that little girl,” she said, according to multiple reports from the courtroom.

Horner quickly denied it: “I didn’t, okay?”

His mother replied with words that sent a chill through the courtroom: “Okay. I didn’t think you did. I just know how you get.”

The phrase “I just know how you get” has sparked intense reaction online and in the gallery, interpreted by many as a mother’s implicit acknowledgment of her son’s troubling behavior or impulses, even as she tried to reassure him.

In another call played for the jury, Horner’s mother pressed for details about Athena’s death. “What did you do? Did she die on her own?” she asked. Horner answered flatly, “No.” His mother responded with shock: “Oh my God.” Horner simply replied, “I know.”

Prosecutors presented five separate phone calls Horner made from the Wise County Jail to his mother, grandmother, and girlfriend. During the playback, Horner reportedly looked down or away from the screen at times, showing visible discomfort. In one moment, he cried while complaining about missing Christmas with his young son.

The calls came as part of the state’s effort to prove future dangerousness and justify a death sentence. Horner, 34, has already pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping. The current phase will decide whether he receives life without parole or execution.

The trial has also featured Horner’s own contradictory jailhouse letters. One addressed to Athena’s family expresses remorse: “I’ve done a terrible thing to your family, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry I took your little angel away from you.” Another marked “DETECTIVES ONLY!!!” claims an older man with a rifle forced him to abduct the child and threatened his family.

Forensic testimony this week revealed that Athena suffered multiple blows to the head while still alive and died from asphyxiation. Male DNA was detected during her examination. Prosecutors have shown evidence contradicting Horner’s early claim that he accidentally struck the girl with his delivery van, including photos of Athena appearing alive inside the FedEx truck as he drove away from her rural Wise County home.

Athena’s mother, Maitlyn Gandy, has attended the trial and previously shared emotional tributes describing her daughter as a “talkative, wild, bold, independent” fighter who gave life her all. The family has endured graphic details of the child’s final moments, including testimony that Horner told Athena he would take her to the hospital — a lie prosecutors say gave the trusting 7-year-old false hope before he killed her.

Horner’s defense has highlighted his struggles with Asperger’s syndrome and claimed a mental breakdown triggered by changes in his delivery route. However, the prosecution portrays a calculated individual who kidnapped and murdered a defenseless child.

The jail calls add another layer to the already complex portrait of Horner. While he denies any sexual assault in the conversation with his mother and mentions that medication has lowered his libido, the mother’s phrasing — “I just know how you get” — has raised questions about what family members may have known or suspected about his behavior prior to the crime.

Legal experts note that such family phone calls are often powerful evidence in sentencing because they humanize the impact on the defendant’s own relatives while revealing unfiltered reactions to the crime. Athena’s family, including her mother and stepmother, have sat through the testimony, bearing the unimaginable pain of hearing both the killer’s voice and his mother’s words.

The community of Wise County continues to grapple with the loss of Athena, a vibrant first-grader whose abduction while a package was being delivered shattered the sense of safety in the area. Gandy’s advocacy has helped push for the “Athena Alert,” an improved missing-child system for rural Texas.

As the jury deliberates Horner’s fate, the chilling jailhouse calls serve as a stark reminder of the ripple effects of violent crime — not only on the victim’s family but also on the perpetrator’s own loved ones. Horner’s mother’s words, spoken in a moment of raw honesty, may linger with jurors as they weigh mercy against the demand for justice.

No parent should ever have to ask their child if they harmed a little girl. Yet in this case, the question was asked… and the answer that followed has only deepened the tragedy for everyone involved.

Athena Strand deserved to grow up wild and free. Instead, her name is now tied to a case filled with horror, contradictions, and haunting recordings that no one can unhear.