Athena Strand.Photo: Texas EquuSearch Facebook
Strand’s mother, Maitlyn Gandy,joined the lawsuit last week, per Buzzfeed News, two months after Athena’s father, Jacob Strand, filed it in December.
The lawsuit names FedEx and BigTopspin, the subcontractor and employer of Tanner Lynn Horner, the man who allegedly confessed to the killing and led authorities to Strand’s body.
Strand’s parents accuse Big Topspin and FedEx of being negligent in hiring, training and supervising the contractor, and accuse the companies of not properly investigating his criminal or work history in the lawsuit, per Buzzfeed.
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Gandy’s filing to join the lawsuit noted that her lawyers were looking to create change at FedEx.
“It is about implementing better hiring, training, and supervising practices to prevent vicious killers from arriving at our doorsteps bearing an insignia that has been cultivated to instill trust,” they wrote.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE Thursday, a FedEx spokesperson said, “Our thoughts remain with the family of Athena Strand in the wake of this tragedy. We are aware of the complaint filed against FedEx Ground.”
The 18-page lawsuit, per WFAA, is seeking"fair and reasonable" compensationfor “acts and omissions” that led to Strand’s death. The document calls Strand’s death “a loss that could have and should have been prevented.”
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Strand was found dead about 200 yards from her Paradise, Texas, home, last year, according to authorities.
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He has also been charged with three counts of sexually assaulting a child, Wise County jailrecords show. It’s unclear whether Strand was a target. Since Horner’s arrest, a woman also came forward, reiterating previous allegations that Horner had sexually assaulted her as a minor. She made the claims on her Facebook page, and it’s unclear whether a police report was ever filed or if Horner was ever charged in the alleged incident.
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“She was an amazing little girl who loved singing, dancing and all animals,” she continued. “She also loved school and all her friends in the first grade who are also struggling with her senseless murder. Athena also loved flowers, but she wasn’t afraid to get down in the mud with the boys. She was her father’s daughter.”
Gandy also vowed to work toward fighting to ensure extensive background checks are implemented among delivery companies, adding that “screening and hiring policies must be put into place so that monsters wearing delivery uniforms don’t show up on our children’s doorsteps.”
source: people.com
