Tanner Horner’s former fifth-grade teacher and a retired speech pathologist testified about his challenges at school as defense attorneys continued presenting their case at Horner’s capital murder trial Friday in Tarrant County.
Horner has already pleaded guilty to kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Athena Strand after delivering a package to her family’s Wise County home on Nov. 30, 2022. His attorneys are trying to convince the jury that the 34-year-old defendant should receive life in prison without the possibility of parole instead of the death penalty.
The fifth-grade teacher, who was not publicly identified in court, said Horner struggled socially. He was only in her class for a few months, and she doesn’t remember much about his home life or what his grades were that school year…