The former FedEx driver who kidnapped and murdered seven-year-old Athena Strand after delivering a Barbie doll to her home in Texas has been sentenced to death.

Tanner Horner received the death penalty following just three hours of jury deliberation in a case that horrified the nation and left jurors visibly shaken by the disturbing evidence presented during trial.

Athena was abducted from her family’s property in Paradise, Texas, in 2022 after Horner arrived at the home while making deliveries for FedEx.

Prosecutors said Horner snatched the little girl before later killing her in a brutal attack that devastated her family and community.

During the trial, jurors reportedly broke down in tears while listening to chilling audio connected to the murder.

According to courtroom testimony and reports from NBC, the recording captured Athena repeatedly begging for her mother as Horner allegedly told her she was “really pretty” and demanded she remove her shirt.

“Horner is then heard asking Athena to remove her shirt, and there are several moments when she says ‘no’ and asks for her mom,” NBC reported last month.

“That was followed by repeated sounds of crying, screaming and banging.”

The deeply disturbing evidence reportedly left many people inside the courtroom emotional as prosecutors detailed the child’s final moments.

Horner previously pleaded guilty to kidnapping and murdering Athena, but the trial proceeded to determine whether he would receive life in prison or the death penalty.

The jury ultimately chose death by lethal injection.

Athena’s disappearance in November 2022 triggered a massive search effort across North Texas before authorities later discovered her body.

The case sparked widespread outrage and renewed discussion about child safety and violent offenders.

FedEx previously said Horner was not actively employed by the company directly but worked for a contracted service provider at the time of the crime.

The sentencing brings a legal conclusion to one of the most horrifying child murder cases in recent Texas history.