Accused Fort Worth Serial Killer Jason Thornburg Indicted For Capital Murder Of Multiple Persons

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - A man accused of killing three people and burning their bodies in a dumpster in Fort Worth has been indicted for capital murder of multiple persons.

Jason Alan Thornburg, 41, was indicted by a grand jury on Tuesday in Tarrant Count District Court No. 3 for the murders of Lauren Phillips, Maricruz Mathis, and David Luera in a Euless hotel room. He was caught after he tried to dispose of their burned bodies in a Fort Worth dumpster.

According to the documents, Thornburg allegedly killed Mathis and Luera with a knife and strangled Phillips. The murders were committed "pursuant to the same scheme or course of conduct, but during different criminal transactions."

Thornburg is also a suspect in the 2017 disappearance of his then-girlfriend Tanya Begay in New Mexico and the murder of his roommate, Mark Jewell, in May 2021.

Questions have been raised about Thornburg's fitness to stand trial. He has stated that the murders of Phillips, Mathis, and Luera were "human sacrifices" and that his purpose in life was to serve God and help people. He has also stated that he wanted to be a missionary.

Yet despite Thornburg's apparent fervor for religion, his criminal activities have been described as "pure evil" and sadistic. He claims he was called by God to perform human sacrifices.

Thornburg shared a hotel room with Luera and even spoke at Jewell's funeral. It is not currently known what, if any, relationship he had to Phillips and Mathis.

The grand jury indictment means that Thornburg has been formally charged with capital murder of multiple persons and that the case will proceed to a criminal trial. The date of the trial will be determined in the future.