Mother of Athena Strand Joins Lawsuit Against Accused Killer, Employer

The mother of 7-year-old Athena Strand is joining a lawsuit filed last year by the girl's father seeking more than $1 million in damages from the FedEx delivery driver accused in the girl's death and his employer.

Maitlyn Gandy, the mother of Athena Strand, was named as an intervening plaintiff in Jacob Strand's civil lawsuit against the girl's accused killer, Tanner Horner, his employer Big TopSpin and FedEx Ground.

Athena Strand, a first grader from Paradise, Texas, was reported missing on Nov. 30, 2022, and her body was found two days later after the arrest of Horner, a 31-year-old who delivered FedEx packages to the girl's home on the day she disappeared.

According to police, Horner confessed that he accidentally hit the girl with his FedEx delivery truck and panicked when she said she would tell her dad. Horner admitted to killing the girl with his bare hands and then dumping her body. He was indicted by a Wise County grand jury last week on two charges of aggravated kidnapping and capital murder of a person under 10.

"This lawsuit is about affecting change at FedEx, in their hiring, training, and supervising of employees and contractors. This lawsuit is about affecting change in the practices of FedEx subcontractors, like Big TopSpin so that these tragic, life-altering and life-ending acts are not repeated," the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit filed by the girl's parents alleges that FedEx Ground and Big TopSpin were negligent in hiring Horner, investigating his background, training him and supervising him.

The lawsuit also argued that FedEx delivery drivers have recently committed numerous assaults, rapes and murders across the country, showing a trend of irresponsibility at the company. One example includes a 2022 case in New York where a driver murdered a woman and burned her house to the ground.

In December 2022, the company responded to Jacob Strand's initial filing with the following statement to NBC 5.

“Our thoughts remain with the family of Athena Strand in the wake of this tragedy. We are aware of the complaint filed against FedEx Ground," the company said.

A new statement from FedEx has not been received by NBC 5.

If convicted on the capital murder charge, Horner faces either life in prison without parole or the death penalty. Police have told prosecutors they want them to seek the death penalty in this case.

Horner remains in the Wise County Jail on six bonds totaling $1,560,000. Horner is also being held on four charges of sexual assault of a child dating back to 2013 unrelated to the Strand case.

STRAND and GANDY vs HORNER, BIG TOPSPIN, FEDEX GROUND