Horrifying audio played to jurors during FedEx killer Tanner Horner’s trial in Texas Friday was so gruesome, a local station was forced to cut away from its live feed as it played.
NBC Dallas Fort Worth’s broadcast briefly went dark as 7-year-old Athena Strand’s final moments were played during the murder trial’s fourth day.
It wasn’t immediately clear what was said on the audio tape — but the station has warned viewers it will pause the feed when parts of the trial become too “graphic.”
Jurors on Friday were also shown disturbing photos of a bungee-like cord and a rope found inside the truck Horner used to abduct the girl in Paradise, Texas, in November 2022.
Other disturbing evidence presented during the trial has included hour-long video footage that reportedly showed Horner, 34, strangling the young girl to death.
The station also did not share that footage in its feed.
Horner was seen closing his eyes and bowing his head as some of the gut-wrenching evidence was shown to jurors this week.
The deranged delivery driver admitted to killing Strand in his FedEx truck before heartlessly tossing her body into a nearby creek.
Horner first lied to police, claiming he accidentally ran into the girl with his truck before “accidentally” killing her in a panic.
Start your day with all you need to know
Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.
Thanks for signing up!
“Just get in the back of the van, we’re going to the hospital,” Horner told investigators he said of their final exchange, while denying that he had killed the young girl.
He later told police his alter ego “Zero” was the one who killed the little girl.
Testimony this week highlighted some of his struggles with delusions and mental illness.
Horner has pleaded guilty to murder, and jurors must now determine his sentence.
He faces the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
