A month into the punishment trial in the murder of Athena Strand, jurors are hearing more testimony about Tanner Horner as they move closer to deciding whether he should be sentenced to life in prison or death by lethal injection.

Horner has already pleaded guilty to capital murder of a child. Now, his fate rests with the jury, who will decide his sentence.

This week, defense witnesses described Horner’s past and present as attorneys argued over whether he would remain a threat if sentenced to prison for life.

Beth, whose last name was not given in court, was a speech pathologist who worked with Horner when he was in middle school. She testified on Friday about the improvement Horner made while she worked with him.

“He had learned to at least stop what he was doing if he didn’t feel like it was right. In the beginning, he could not do that,” Beth said.

“I liked him. He was a great kid,” she said.

She said Horner needed continual support, but when asked whether his autism could have led him to kidnap and kill a child, she said that it did not.

Neuroscientist Jeffrey Lewine also testified for the defense, saying brain scans showed several abnormalities that may affect Horner, including his ability to show empathy.

During cross-examination, prosecutors pointed out that Lewine is not a medical doctor and cannot make diagnoses. Lewine agreed he could not determine from the brain scans whether a person would act a certain way or commit crimes.

The defense is trying to show that Horner would not be a continuing threat to society if he were placed in a controlled environment such as a state prison, and that his life should be spared. Prosecutors are trying to show the opposite — that Horner would remain a threat and should be sentenced to death.

Next week, jurors are expected to hear from Horner’s brother and grandmother.

New Updates

APR 242:43 PM CDT

 

Trial concludes for the week

Judge George Gallagher dismissed the jury at about 2:30 p.m. on Friday. The trial will resume at about 9 a.m. Monday.

APR 242:41 PM CDT

 

Neuroscientist testifies about how parts of the brain work together

By Frank Heinz

“I always like to use the analogy of roads, highways, freeways, interstates. When I was a professor at the University of Texas, I would drive up to Dallas. Austin. I did things with the different universities up there. And, you know, I-35 is a nice direct route until you get just outside of, of Dallas and then all these other highways, freeways and interstates start to connect. So that’s a hub. Fort Worth is a big hub, but you can go anywhere in the United States now once you get to one of those hubs, the brain is exactly the same way. Everything is interconnected,” Dr. Erin David Bigler said. “Each one of those hubs, each one of those particular networks, is observing a different aspect of behavior. And so one of the areas that Doctor Lewine spoke of is this orbital frontal area. The reason it’s called the orbital frontal area is it sits just above the orbits, the eye socket. And so this was referred to as the orbital frontal area. But this is the frontal part of the brain. Well, this orbital frontal area has a direct connection with the temporal lobe. And the temporal lobe has these brain structures called the limbic system, and they’re regulators of emotion, including emotional tone. This area up here is called the dorsal lateral and then as you move forward, the prefrontal cortex, this is the slower, more contemplative decision-making part of the brain. This is the more emotional, reactive part of the brain. If there’s an imbalance between these areas, then emotion can override contemplative behavior. And this is one of the things that Doctor Lewine was talking about in terms of social cognition. Because social cognition gets tied in to emotional processing, emotional regulation and emotional tone.”

Bigler later discussed the brain’s pathways and how researchers can assess their integrity. Bigler said the MRI tells you about structure, the EEG tells you about physiology, and the PET tells you about metabolic activity.

“One of the things … Doctor Lewin talked about is coherence. So areas that are showing connectivity will have somewhat similar coherence. So it allows you to look at how the network is connecting. And then as you go across these different modalities of imaging, you can make more inferences about how the brain is functioning and how that structural aspect of the brain relates to function.”

Bigler told prosecutors that he never met Tanner Horner and did not evaluate Tanner Horner. He said he was not testifying whether Horner knew right from wrong and was not saying that autism was the cause of the crime in this case.

APR 242:20 PM CDT

 

Former UT professor of psychology and neuroscience testifies in Horner murder trial

By Frank Heinz

NBC 5 News
Dr. Erin Bigler.

Dr. Erin David Bigler, a retired American neuropsychologist, was called to the stand on Friday afternoon.

Listing his background and qualifications, Bigler said he is professor emeritus of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University and was formerly professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Texas at Austin. While in Texas, he said he also held an appointment at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. He said he’s a licensed and board-certified clinical neuropsychologist and a cognitive neuroscientist and researcher.

Bigler said he did not examine Horner but was asked to assist the defense in understanding brain anatomy and function, and in contemporary methods for evaluating the structure and function of the human brain.

Using a model, Bigler showed the area of the brain where the fornix is located — the area spoken about by Dr. Lewine. In the photo below, it’s the curved pink area.

 

APR 241:52 PM CDT

 

Neuroscientist said Horner’s brain has a number of abnormalities

By Frank Heinz

Dr. Jeffrey David Lewine said that any individual might have one or two abnormalities in their brain. He added that the number of abnormalities that Horner has would be seen in less than .01% of the population.

“From the imaging alone. I cannot say anything specific about Mr. Horner’s behavioral pattern,” Lewine said.

Lewine later agreed, under cross-examination, that scans cannot help him distinguish between a person who cannot control their impulses and one who may choose not to control them through free will.

Lewine said throughout his career, he has taken part in roughly 7,000 brain scans, and this case was not the first time he’d seen a brain like Horner’s.

“This is one of the rare occasions where there are so many nodes specifically within the social cognition network. But I’ve seen the other abnormalities, again, more commonly related to things like TBI as opposed to autism spectrum disorder,” Lewine said.

APR 241:41 PM CDT

 

Court resumes after lunch with neuroscientist’s cross examination

By Frank Heinz

NBC 5 News
Dr. Jeffrey David Lewine

Dr. Jeffrey David Lewine, a neuroscientist, was back on the stand after lunch. Lewine said he’d testified in seven or eight capital murder trials in Texas and about 15 in total.

Lewine confirmed he’s not a doctor, psychologist or neuropsychologist and that he can’t make any type of medical diagnosis, conduct any type of neuropsychological or psychological tests or treat or diagnose any patients as part of his profession.

In the Horner case, Lewine said he performed several scans of the defendant’s brain: an EEG, an MRI and a PET scan. Doctors who read those scans said Horner’s brain was “functioning within normal limits.”

“So the clinical interpretation of those scans is that there are no abnormalities on the there are no gross abnormalities on the MRI. There are no gross metabolic abnormalities on the PET scan,” Lewine said.

 

APR 2412:22 PM CDT

 

Court recesses for lunch

By Hannah Jones

Judge George Gallagher instructed the court to take a brief recess for lunch.

Trial will resume shortly.

APR 2412:20 PM CDT

 

‘Structural and functional defects,’ Lewine summarizes findings regarding Horner’s brain

By Hannah Jones

Dr. Lewine told the jury that Horner’s brain showed both structural and functional defects, especially with respect to brain structures supporting emotional regulation of behavior, social cognition, memory, and pragmatic language.

He said his findings were consistent with Horner’s Asperger’s diagnosis and that early neurotoxic exposures may have contributed to his neurological deficiencies.

APR 2412:17 PM CDT

 

Jury sees images from PET scan of Horner’s brain

By Hannah Jones

Dr. Lewine displayed images from a PET scan of Horner’s brain, noting that Horner had both hypometabolism and hypermetabolism in various areas.

Lewine color-coded the images shown to the jury, with blue indicating hypometabolic areas and red indicating hypermetabolic areas.

“Tanner shows hypometabolism in several areas of the brain, including the orbital frontal cortex, right and left, including parts of the right temple. He also shows abnormally high metabolic overactivity, and overactivity is just as bad as underactivity. He shows that, in particular, in the back of the brain, in a part of the brain known as the cuneus.”

According to Lewine, the cuneus is involved in social cognition, empathy, and understanding what other people are thinking.

 

APR 2412:02 PM CDT

 

‘Not neurotypoical’ Dr. Lewine discusses Horner’s brain activity, EEG results

By Hannah Jones

Dr. Lewine showed the jury the results of an EEG scan of Horner’s brain.

“Tanner has very significant increased theta activity all the way through delta and high beta activity over the left hemisphere of his brain,” Lewine said. “He’s got some minor disruptions in coherence; they’re actually not that bad. But his baseline brain rhythms are not neurotypical. They show significant abnormalities.”

APR 2411:52 AM CDT

 

MRI images of Horner’s brain shown in court

By Hannah Jones

Dr. Lewine told the jury that he conducted an MRI scan of Tanner Horner’s brain and showed the jury images from that scan.

According to Lewine, the volumetrics from Horner’s scans show that “things are mostly within normal [range], but there is one particular area that is abnormally low.”

Lewine said that Horner’s left orbitofrontal area was 20% lower than the average person’s, meaning that he had approximately 50 million fewer neurons.

“The left orbitofrontal cortex is one of these key brain regions involved in the emotional regulation of behavior and social cognition,” Lewine said. “It is often disrupted in autism spectrum disorders. And again, that’s based on the scientific literature. It can be disrupted and traumatic brain injury. It can also be disrupted in depression.”

 

APR 2411:42 AM CDT

 

Lewine tells jury about possible factors impacting Horner’s brain development

By Hannah Jones

Dr. Lewine showed the jury a slide that explained that Horner’s brain development could have been impacted by fetal alcohol, lead, and a toxic stress environment. Lewine said Horner’s brain development could also have been impacted by Asperger’s, ADHD, and head trauma.

APR 2411:38 AM CDT

 

Dr. Lewine tells jury about brain development, contributing factors

By Hannah Jones

Neuroscientist Dr. Lewine explained to the jury that a variety of factors can influence brain development, including genetics, environment, toxic exposures, psychiatric disease, and head trauma.

To demonstrate that people’s brains develop differently, Lewine showed an image of the infamous image of “the dress.” “The dress” was a viral online phenomenon that began in 2015 and involved a photograph of a dress that some viewers saw as blue and black, while others saw it as white and gold.

According to Lewine, a person’s brain wiring determines how they perceive color, and differences in brain development account for the disagreement over the color of the dress.

APR 2411:29 AM CDT

 

Jury returns to courtroom, Dr. Lewine continues testimony

By Hannah Jones

After the jury returned to the courtroom, Dr. Lewine began his testimony regarding the function of the human brain. He used a PowerPoint presentation to show the various parts of the brain to the jury.

APR 2411:22 AM CDT

 

Jury asked to retire to jury room

By Hannah Jones

Due to the contents of a PowerPoint presentation brought to court by Dr. Lewine, Judge George Gallagher asked the jury to briefly retire to the jury room while counsel reviewed the slides.

APR 2411:19 AM CDT

 

Defense calls neuroscientist Dr. Jeffrey D. Lewine to the stand

By Hannah Jones

The defense called Dr. Jeffrey David Lewine, a neuroscientist, to the stand. Lewine is the chief executive and chief scientific officer of the Center for Advanced Diagnostics, Evaluation, and Therapeutics in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He also served as CEO of Neuroscience Expert Consulting Services of America.

Lewine told the jury that he works on “a number of conditions, most notably autism spectrum disorders, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, and post-traumatic stress disorder.” He explained that he does not diagnose individuals, but rather is involved in the “science of treatment.”

APR 2411:13 AM CDT

 

Court resumes, prosecution cross-examines speech-language pathologist

By Hannah Jones

The jury returned to the courtroom shortly before 11 a.m. Beth, a former speech-language pathologist, was once again on the stand.

During cross-examination, the prosecution asked her about Horner’s ability to improve his behavior. Beth reiterated her opinion that Horner was “getting there” and that he seemed to be learning improved social skills.

The prosecution then asked Beth about her statement regarding how Horner should never have been in the FedEx truck alone, saying, “I guess what you’re saying is that he shouldn’t have been trusted to be in that truck a lot.”

“Right,” Beth said. “And that’s not to say that he couldn’t do that job and do it well. That’s to say, when circumstances don’t follow the norm for him cognitively, he can’t… What he’s telling himself is ‘Just fix it. Let’s just fix this.’ And sometimes his fix is worse than the problem.”

“Do you understand that if the fact is that he did not hit [Athena] with that truck, that creates a whole different situation?” The prosecution asked. “If the evidence is that he did not hit her with that truck, and that did not happen as you understand it, that changes your opinion on things?”

 

APR 2410:52 AM CDT

 

Court takes a brief recess

By Hannah Jones

Judge George Gallagher called for a brief recess shortly after 10:40 a.m.

Court is expected to resume shortly.

APR 2410:48 AM CDT

 

‘That young man should never have been in that truck by himself’

By Hannah Jones

Beth told the jury that it had been 20 years since she worked as Horner’s in-home facilitator.

“I liked him,” Beth said. “He was a great kid, and he was mannerly. ‘Yes, ma’am. No, ma’am. I’m sorry I did that.’ I had fun with him. He was a fun kid.”

The defense then asked Beth if she understood that Horner pleaded guilty to the offense of capital murder that involved a kidnapping.

“Are you saying that Tanner’s autism was, you know, the reason why this incident occurred?” The defense asked.

“No,” Beth replied.

 

APR 2410:38 AM CDT

 

Defense shows speech-language pathologist’s notes from community outings with Horner

By Hannah Jones

Beth testified that she would take Horner on “community outings” to help him to learn social skills. These outings often involved taking Horner to restaurants so that he could work on socialization in a controlled environment.

APR 2410:35 AM CDT

 

‘He couldn’t foresee that,’ Jury hears about Horner’s ability to understand consequences

By Hannah Jones

The defense asked Beth about Horner’s ability to understand consequences.

“When we do a behavior, there’s going to be a consequence,” Beth explained. “And in the normal way, the brain works, you can see you can foresee what that consequence may be. So you tell yourself, ‘We don’t want to do that.’ [Horner] doesn’t foresee that. He just can’t foresee that. He had to learn coping, to stop, and to think about it. ‘What have I just done? And if I do this, what’s going to happen?’ And that’s a hard process for anyone. They have to stop themselves in the middle of whatever is happening. But he could not see. He couldn’t project what was going to happen.”

Beth told the jury that this ability to understand consequences can impact one’s ability to problem-solve, and that Horner would often attempt to work through the process to solve a problem.

“He was getting there,” Beth said.

Beth also testified that she worked with Horner on the concept of compromise.

APR 2410:25 AM CDT

 

Defense presents notes from speech-language pathologist’s visits to Horner’s home

By Hannah Jones

The jury was shown notes from Beth’s October 29, 2002, visit to the Horner household. Tanner was not present during the visit.

APR 2410:20 AM CDT

 

Jury hears testimony about Horner’s home life

By Hannah Jones

As part of Beth’s work as a speech-language pathologist, she went into the Horner home and met Tanner’s mother and grandmother. She testified that a child’s home environment, particularly one that lacks stability, can affect the child’s behavior.

“The difference is that a child who is not on the autism spectrum can adjust to those changes and can go on with the day in a normal manner,” Beth said. “Children with autism cannot adjust. They have difficulty adjusting to those changes, and it’s frustrating to them.”

When asked about her interactions with Tanner’s mother, Beth replied, “She was not a mother. She just wasn’t a mother. She just did not have the motherly instincts. She had problems of her own, and Tanner was put on the back burner.”

Beth told the jury that having Tanner’s mother around “infringed upon Tanner’s routines,” and “caused disturbances.”

The defense asked Beth about her interactions with Horner’s grandmother, and Beth replied: “She was a lovely lady and she tried her best.”

APR 2410:12 AM CDT

 

‘Not good,’ Former speech-language pathologist testifies about Horner’s cognitive ability as a child

By Hannah Jones

Beth told the jury that Tanner Horner spent time in her program when he was in seventh grade. She said Horner “had qualified through all of the diagnostics to get into the program.”

When asked by the defense to describe Horner’s ability to recognize social cues, Beth replied, “Not good.”

“His cognitive abilities stopped at a certain point,” Beth said. “For him to be able to understand jokes, teasing, bullying… He was definitely bullied through school, and those were aggravating to him, and he got angry, of course.”

“Did Tanner appear to be able to identify other people’s emotions or feelings?” The defense asked.

“At times,” Beth replied.

 

APR 249:57 AM CDT

 

Jury returns to courtroom, former speech-language pathologist begins testimony

By Hannah Jones

The jury was asked to return to the courtroom, and a former speech-language pathologist in Azle ISD, identified as Beth, began her official testimony.

Beth said she worked with “students who had cognitive deficits, who had speech impediments, who had dysphagia or swallowing difficulties, who stuttered.”

She also said she worked with students who had “a delay in language,” and “difficulty understanding what was really being asked of them in the general classroom.” She also testified that she worked with students who had neurodevelopmental disorders.

Beth testified that she developed a behavior modification program tailored to both students and their families. She said the program was started to help students with autism, and told the jury that Horner was admitted to the program.

APR 249:45 AM CDT

 

Court takes a brief recess

By Hannah Jones

Judge George Gallagher called for a brief recess shortly after 9:30 a.m.

Court is expected to resume shortly.

APR 249:36 AM CDT

 

Defense calls speech-language pathologist to the stand

By Hannah Jones

The defense called a speech-language pathologist, who asked not to be shown and be identified solely as “Beth,” to the stand.

Prior to hearing Beth’s testimony, the jury was asked to leave the courtroom.

“We’re going to ask you some questions outside the presence of the jury to start,” Judge George Gallagher told Beth.

The prosecution asked Beth to clarify that her testimony would focus only on her interactions with Horner, not on what other diagnosticians said.

 

APR 249:25 AM CDT

 

‘Athena Strand Army,’ Members of Strand’s family wear shirts with messages of support

By Hannah Jones

In the gallery, members of Athena Strand’s family were seen wearing shirts that said “Athena Strand Army.”

Other members of her family were seen wearing pink, which was Athena’s favorite color.

APR 249:12 AM CDT

 

Testimony resumes, Horner’s former teacher takes the stand

By Hannah Jones

Court resumed at 9 a.m. on Friday, and the defense called Tanner Horner’s former fifth-grade teacher to the stand. She asked not to be named or shown.

She testified that Horner had been diagnosed with autism during the time he spent in her class.

When asked what the other students thought of Horner, she replied, “They thought he was odd.”

She said that Horner enjoyed doing Mad Libs, saying, “I told him that he could do the Mad Libs by himself, and he did. He was very much laughing and enjoying himself, but really, I could tell he was trying to sell it to get everybody… because doing a Mad Libs by yourself, you know what your adjectives are, and your nouns are, and it’s not as funny as when you’re doing someone who has no idea what the story is.”

 

APR 249:02 AM CDT

 

Trial to resume at 9 a.m. on Friday

By Hannah Jones

The trial is expected to resume at 9 a.m. for the eleventh day of testimony.

APR 248:33 AM CDT

 

Tanner Horner murder trial concludes second week

By Larry Collins

The second week of the murder trial for Tanner Horner, the man who pleaded guilty to killing Athena Strand, is coming to a close. NBC 5’s Larry Collins tells us more.

Tanner Horner murder trial

Crime and CourtsApr 23

Tanner Horner’s family describes abuse and addiction growing up, says he ‘ate coins’

Wise CountyApr 22

Tanner Horner’s mother takes the stand, shares struggles while raising son

Crime and CourtsApr 20

Attorneys vet expert witnesses before jury hears about Tanner Horner’s mental health

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC DFW. AI tools helped convert the story into a digital article, and an NBC DFW journalist edited it again before publication.