EP. 245 - TEXAS: The Murder of Athena Strand

Murder In America

Blood In The Sink Productions

True Crime

4.8 • 8.5K Ratings

🗓️ 15 May 2026

⏱️ 174 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

"Are you a kidnapper?" Those are some of the last words that Athena Strand ever said. She was just 7 years old, standing in the back of a FedEx van, where an adult had told her she was safe, that things would be okay. But things would never be okay again. The man driving the van was not only a predator... but a killer. And his plans for Athena would be captured on camera, leading to one of the most horrific trials in modern history. A trial that still has everyone asking: How could someone be so evil? - Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eTYeCoYyxm58DXXdoFbHQyWHlWbcH9iKGIefFcQToW4/edit?tab=t.y2yayotxnlcb Listen to our new show, "THE CONSPIRACY FILES"!: -Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5IY9nWD2MYDzlSYP48nRPl -Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-conspiracy-files/id1752719844 -Amazon/Audible - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ab1ade99-740c-46ae-8028-b2cf41eabf58/the-conspiracy-files -Pandora - https://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-conspiracy-files/PC:1001089101 -iHeart - https://iheart.com/podcast/186907423/ -PocketCast - https://pca.st/dpdyrcca -CastBox - https://castbox.fm/channel/id6193084?country=us - Stay Connected: Join the Murder in America fam in our free Facebook Community for a behind-the-scenes look, more insights and current events in the true crime world: https://www.facebook.com/groups/4365229996855701 If you want even more Murder in America bonus content, including ad-free episodes, come join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/murderinamerica Instagram: http://instagram.com/murderinamerica/ Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/people/Murder-in-America-Podcast/100086268848682/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MurderInAmerica TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theparanormalfiles and https://www.tiktok.com/@courtneybrowen Feeling spooky? Follow Colin as he travels state to state (and even country to country!) investigating claims of extreme paranormal activity and visiting famous haunted locations on The Paranormal Files Official Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheParanormalFilesOfficialChannel - (c) BLOOD IN THE SINK PRODUCTIONS 2026 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Warning, the following podcast is not suitable for all audiences.
0:04.1	We go into great detail with every case that we cover and do our best to bring viewers even deeper into the stories by utilizing disturbing audio and sound effects.
0:12.0	Trigger warnings from the stories we cover may include violence, rape, murder, and offenses against children.
0:18.3	This podcast is not for everyone. You have been warned.
0:22.8	Today's story has been a huge case in the true crime world recently.
0:27.2	It involves a little girl named Athena, who disappeared from her dad's house in November
0:31.7	of 2022.
0:33.2	I have been following it since the crime first occurred.
0:36.4	And up until the perpetrator's trial,
0:38.7	the story surrounding this case was that a FedEx driver accidentally hit Athena with his truck
0:43.7	while making a delivery at her house. Then in a panic, he kidnapped her, not wanting to get in trouble.
0:50.8	Now I think I can speak for everyone when I say, we all kind of raised our eyebrows
0:55.1	at that. Based on our knowledge of true crime, many of us suspected that there might have been
1:00.1	something darker at play, that it wasn't for self-preservation, but possibly a sexual motive.
1:06.5	It wasn't until the perpetrator's trial came around when we learned just how dark this story is.
1:12.5	Now, you'll notice this is an extremely long episode, and that's because I originally broke it into two parts.
1:18.9	Part one was the story we knew before the trial, and part two is everything we know about this case today.
1:24.9	I decided to combine them, so it's a very long episode.
1:29.0	But this is the story of Athena Strand.
1:32.1	Trigger warning, it is a very hard one to listen to.
1:35.5	But I'm Courtney Browen.
1:36.9	And I'm Colin Brown.
	...

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