What to KnowThe trial will be livestreamed and live blogged in this article. The judge has warned that the trial will include graphic testimony and video. NBC 5 has decided to cut away from particularly graphic parts of the testimony. We will return to the trial as soon as we are able. Viewer discre tion is advised.A complete live blog on the day’s events at trial appears below the article. Previous Trial Coverage: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9-11 | Day 12 | Day 13 A jury heard more testimony Thursday about Tanner Horner’s family history as defense attorneys worked to spare him from a death sentence. Horner has already admitted to killing 7-year-old Athena Strand in November 2022. In the sentencing phase of the trial, his attorneys are presenting evidence they say shows a childhood shaped by abuse, substance abuse and instability. One of the most emotional witnesses was Horner’s paternal aunt, who asked not to be named or shown. She testified about Horner’s father, Terry, and described a life marked by drugs, prison and violence. “Now, what did your brother do for a living?” prosecutors asked. “Steal,” she replied. She also told jurors her brother abused her and threatened her. “He molested me when I was younger. He threatened to kill me three different times and he was not a very nice person,” she said. “He beat my mother and stole money from her, as well.” The aunt said the defendant’s father spent much of his life in prison and often lived on family members’ properties. “Stuff was everywhere. And they found buckets, five-gallon buckets of poop. Because Terry wouldn’t come in the house to use the bathroom,” she said. She said the conditions did not improve after Terry met Horner’s mother. “The house was horrible. There was trash everywhere,” she testified. The aunt also testified about other siblings and their mother, saying substance abuse affected much of the family. Prosecutors, however, tried to underscore that a difficult family history does not determine a person’s future. When asked whether she used drugs or had ever killed anyone, she replied, “No, sir.” Jurors also heard from Horner’s second cousin, who said she babysat him when she was 10 and he was a baby. She and the aunt both had only limited interactions with Horner when he was young. The cousin testified that as a baby, Horner would find coins and eat them. The defense also called Aaron Specht, an assistant professor at Purdue University who specializes in environmental contamination and lead exposure. Specht testified he used a tool to measure how much lead had built up in Horner’s bones. “His level was 24 times higher than that of the comparison group,” said Sprecht. “My opinion is that Mr. Horner experienced a significant amount of lead exposure that would have impacted his health, particularly his neurological health.” Horner’s former school psychologist also testified, saying he had trouble getting along with other children and that he would be considered level one on the autism spectrum. “He was able to function in a regular education environment with some education support,” the psychologist said. Defense attorneys are trying to persuade the jury that Horner could function well in prison for life because of the rules and structure there. When asked whether Horner benefited from classroom structure, the psychologist said he appeared to benefit. She also said, though, that she believed he had a stable home environment. Horner pleaded guilty in the capital murder case at the start of the trial. In Texas, a conviction of capital murder is punishable by life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. Trial Day 13 Live Blog This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC DFW. AI tools helped convert the story into a digital article, and an NBC DFW journalist edited it again before publication. ...read more read less