Matt Howerton

Back at work after the Howerton December to Remember Marriage Event. Wedding party came out HOT. Offense clicked. APR financing somehow survived. Hawaii was dope. No refunds. No sequels. Mahalo. 🍍🌴 SPECIAL thanks to @aislinnkate for the 📸!

PICTURE DAY 📸 My mom ordered wallet prints. Please drop a like so I can become a famous person. #IAMSOUP

Day 1 with the whole squad 💪 Watch Daybreak every morning on WFAA and WFAA+ #dallas #dfw #northtexas

JUST IN: Tanner Horner has arrived to death row and is now in custody of the TDCJ this morning, per a member of #AthenaStrand's family. A TDCJ spokesperson also confirmed the update. His TDCJ booking photos are below. Horner was transferred to Huntsville for processing to death row after being sentenced to death by a Tarrant County jury Tuesday. He arrived last night. I mentioned yesterday that Horner's sentencing is the end of a major chapter in this case. Now, a new one begins. Horner's case will be automatically appealed under state law, and his execution may not occur for another 10-15 years. Per TDCJ, the average wait time before execution is roughly 11.05 years. The shortest time on death row before execution? Joe Gonzales spent 252 days on death row for murder before being executed in 1996. The longest? Brent Brewer spent 32 years on death row before his execution in 2023 for murder. The average time spent on death row is a little deceptive now because it includes decades of faster executions when Texas was moving through cases far more quickly. As for what Horner's day-to-day will look like: Texas death row inmates live in near-total isolation, spending about 22 to 23 hours a day alone in small concrete cells with limited human contact. Most are housed at Allan B. Polunsky Unit, where daily life revolves around meals through a slot, solitary recreation, legal appeals, and heavily restricted visits behind glass. The environment is often described as psychologically draining, with inmates spending years in repetitive confinement while appeals slowly move through the courts. Not loud chaos like movies sometimes portray, more like a fluorescent-lit stillness where time thickens and decades drip by one appeal at a time.

BREAKING: a Tarrant County jury has sentenced Tanner Horner, 34, to death for the murder of 7-year-old #AthenaStrand. The jury took nearly 3 hours to make their decision. A major chapter in this case that’s been ongoing for more than 3 years has been closed. And the ending is one I would believe many are pleased with. Impact statements now begin.

Today is a big day for #AthenaStrand, her family, and anyone who has supported this little girl who should have never been killed more than 3 years ago. A jury could decide by the end of the day whether or not to send Horner to death row for senselessly murdering Athena in 2022 while on his FedEx delivery route. Day 20 of Tanner Horner's capital murder trial resumes Tuesday, with closing arguments beginning at 9 AM. Both prosecutors and Horner's defense attorneys will have roughly 30 minutes each to present their final arguments. After that, jury deliberations begin. Legal experts watching this case alongside me, my colleagues, and all of you don't expect those deliberations to last long. The deck is heavily stacked against Horner--but all the defense needs is one juror to not agree on the death penalty. It's been a long road to this point--jurors have heard emotional testimony from Athena's parents, relatives, investigators, and that 1-hour video of Horner killing the little girl in the back of his truck. Athena's mother has worn pink consistently throughout the trial, her hair pink; it was Athena's favorite color. This morning she's wearing black. She posted a quote from the movie 'Walk the Line' this morning before the closing arguments. It's the moment where Johnny Cash is told to stop wearing black because it looks like he's going to a funeral. Cash replies, "Well, maybe I am."

BIG TIME STUFF. Somebody thought it was a good idea to let @matthowerton on the Ultimate Dallas Sports Show. @jonahjavad , @mikelesliewfaa , Director Kelly and I had our hands full - but it was fun! 😂 Catch the Ultimate Dallas Sports Show weekdays at noon and 9pm on WFAA+!

A tough morning for anyone in #MineralWells after an apparent tornado touched down Tuesday evening, causing extensive damage to both homes and industrial properties. We're getting our first views from the air of all the damage this morning, and the images are heartbreaking. Homes gutted and beyond repair--along with a warehouse that was flattened by the storms. The National Weather Service will be surveying the area this morning, and WFAA's meteorologists believe they will ultimately determine an EF-2/EF-3 as the culprit. So far, no deaths have been reported, which is good news, but we do know at least two people were hospitalized with injuries. Officials expect to give an update at 11 AM.

BIG thanks to the @americanhearttx for trusting me and Dia Wall to grab the mic and not accidentally turn a classy gala into our stand-up special at #CotesduCoeur! (We’ve been practicing) We showed up. We emceed. Nobody pulled us off stage with a giant shepherd’s hook. That’s a win. HUGE night, big hearts, even bigger impact. And yes—I broke out the wedding tux again. Still fits. Still dangerous. Still legally considered a weapon in 3 states. 😉

BREAKING: Local news anchor bravely confirms…rain is, in fact, wet. Let that settle in. Absorb it. Write it down if you need to. I am ADVANCING meteorology. Somewhere, Greg is still trying to recover from having to follow that. You’re welcome, North Texas. Journalism lives. 🫡

On Day 12 of Tanner Horner’s capital murder trial surrounding the killing of #AthenaStrand, Horner's mother took the stand and said it plainly. “I'm so sorry…I'm so mad at him. I wanna just tear his a** up.” Over and over—through tears—apologizing for what her son did to Athena and her family. Then she admitted something else. She broke the rules. She watched the trial before testifying. And asked the judge, “Please don’t throw me in jail.” The judge allowed her testimony to stand. So the jury heard everything. She described a childhood filled with instability and anger. She admitted to using drugs and alcohol while pregnant—and told jurors Horner was bullied, diagnosed on the autism spectrum. and overwhelmed by life--even by being a father. “He was scared of hurting the baby," Horner's mother said. The defense is trying to show a different side of Horner, including childhood photos of him and his mother. They played a video of Horner with his young son taking his first steps—a Hail Mary attempt to humanize him as jurors decide whether he should face life without parole or the death penalty. But even his own mother struggled to exist in that atmosphere. That’s what the jury is weighing now: the life Horner lived--and the life he took. Horner showed little reaction in court as his mother left the stand in tears. If this is day one of the defense’s case--it’s already facing an uphill climb.

BREAKING: It’s Lauren Howerton’s birthday today! What a year it’s been. Since getting married, Lauren has provided me with one special thing that every husband cherishes: an endless amount of Borat jokes and screaming MY WIIIIIFFFEE anytime she walks into a room. I love this woman very much—she puts up with my experimental pinball comedy, love for the WWF Attitude era, and my huge forehead. Merciful. Graceful. Patient. Happy Birthday and let’s have another PHENOMENAL trip around the sun!