Mother of murdered Athena Strand, 7, says she supports her killer being ... trends now
Maitlyn Gandy, mother of Athena Strand, the seven-year-old girl who was kidnapped and strangled by a FedEx driver outside of her Dallas home last month, has said she hoped her daughter's killer will be sentenced to death as punishment for the terrible crime.
During her first television interview, Gandy described in detail how the family have managed to get through the last couple of weeks and spoke of how grateful she was for the outpouring of support from the community.
She shared harrowing details how Athena's three-year-old sister, Rilyn, longs for her to come home and seems to not yet fully comprehend what has happened to her sibling.
She also revealed the deeply personal moment of seeing Athena's face one final time as she closed the casket at her little girl's funeral.
In her first television interview, Maitlyn Gandy, the mother of Athena Strand, has reflected on her daughter's life and her hopes of justice for her killer
Athena was abducted from her father's home in Paradise, Texas, on November 30 by FedEx driver Tanner Horner, police say
Athena vanished from her father's home in Wise County on November 30, her body was recovered two days later. The suspect Tanner Horner, 31, told investigators that he accidentally hit Strand with his truck, 'panicked,' and then finally, he strangled her to death.
Gandy says that if and when a trial happens, she hopes that prosecutors will push for Horner to be executed.
'I support the death penalty. In any sentencing that may come. Every breath he takes is one my daughter doesn't,' Gandy told WFAA. 'If I could sit down in front of him, I would tell him that he is nothing, but that Athena is absolutely everything, and I will make sure that everybody in this world knows that he is nothing and that she is everything.'
Horner is facing charges of capital murder and aggravated kidnapping. He is being held on a $1.5 million bail.
Maitlyn Gandy, embraces other kids during a memorial service earlier this month
The seven-year-old was laid to rest in a bright pink coffin at a private funeral service. Gandy, 26, said her late daughter, Athena, will be cremated and 'come home in an urn because I'm not anywhere close to letting my baby go'
Maitlyn Gandy posted photos of her ate daughter Athena's pink coffin on her Facebook page
Horner told investigators that Athena wasn't seriously hurt after he hit her while backing up, but he panicked and put her in his van. He said she was talking to him and told him her name, according to an affidavit.
But Horner said he didn't want her to tell her father what happened, so he first tried to break the girl's neck and when that didn't work he strangled her with his hands in the back of the van, the warrant said. Horner later took investigators to where he'd left Athena's body.
Gandy says she wished he had simply driven away and let her daughter walk.
'We are very forgiving people. If Athena was not injured or even if she had a few bumps and scrapes, he could have just driven away. We could have forgiven him,' Gandy said.
'Accidents do happen, but he chose to do more - and what he did was unforgivable. I have a hard time believing Athena couldn't have walked away. Athena could have just walked away, and I wish he would have let her.'
During what is her first sit-down interview since the tragedy, Gandy says she is still grieving for her daughter while still trying to care for her younger sister, Rilyn.
'I triple-check my doors every night, and I hold my three-year-old tighter. I'm scared to let her go. Everything is just very very scary and very very sad,' Gandy said through tears
'I triple-check my doors every night, and I hold my three-year-old tighter. I'm scared to let her go. Everything is just very very scary and very very sad,' Gandy said through tears.
'It's been rough for our family. For my other three-year-old. She doesn't understand why she can't call 'sissy' or why she hasn't come home yet. It's a long time for her to go without seeing her sister', she explains.
'We're coping. We're trying to function. It's been long. Hard but very chaotic at the same time. I'm sad. I'm angry. I'm confused. I am doing my best. I've been very scared, and I don't sleep very often or for an extended period of time. Noises at night scare me.'
Gandy says one of the hardest moments she has had to endure was when she saw he little girl's face for the final time as she lay her to rest at her funeral.
'I was the one who saw her face last,' she says. 'I closed her casket before her daddy, uncles and grandfathers carried her out. I just held her hand, kissed her and told her how sorry I was, and how much I love her. That was the last time I saw her.'
Although Athena's body was placed in the casket for the funeral service, Gandy brought her cremated remains home in an urn because said she was 'not anywhere close to letting my baby go.'
By far the most moving part of the 20 minute long discussion about Athena is Gandy paying tribute to the seven-year-old daughter
'Our family is grateful for the help from the community and law enforcement. I wouldn't have made it through without
