Who is Jason Thornburg? Texas cannibal serial killer sentenced to death
TARRANT COUNTY – A North Texas man who was recently convicted of killing three people, dismembering and burning their bodies in what he called "human sacrifices" was sentenced to death on Wednesday.
Besides the crimes for which 44-year-old Jason Thornburg was sentenced to death, he has also confessed to previously murdering his ex-girlfriend and a roommate.
Here's everything that happened leading up to his sentencing.
"Human sacrifices"
On Sept. 22, 2021, West Fort Worth firefighters responded to a dumpster fire behind a business just after 6:15 a.m. Once it was put out, they found human body parts inside. The bodies were badly burned and heavily dismembered, and there were body parts missing as well, Fort Worth police said at the time.
Thornburg, an electrician's apprentice, was arrested after surveillance footage from a Euless motel and from cameras near the dumpster linked him to the crime.
The victims, a man and two women, were identified as David Lueras, 42, Lauren Phillips, 34, and Maricruz Mathis, 33. Thornburg told police he dismembered their bodies and kept them stored in a room at the Euless motel before setting them on fire.
Thornburg said he shared the motel room with Lueras. He told police he believed Lueras "needed to be sacrificed." Thus, he cut his throat and then cut Lueras into pieces in the bathtub. Thornburg kept the remains in trash bags for several days before getting some Rubbermaid-type bins to store them in, according to police.
He told detectives he knew the women "casually." Again, though, he believed both women needed to be sacrificed. He slit one of the women's throats and put her body parts in a storage bin. Two days later, according to an affidavit, the second female victim showed up at the hotel room where he stabbed and strangled her. Her remains also went into a storage bin.
In-depth knowledge of the Bible
According to an affidavit, Thornburg said he had an in-depth knowledge of the Bible and believed he was called by God to commit human sacrifices.
Thornburg later admitted to killing his ex-girlfriend, 36-year-old Tanya Begay, in Arizona in 2017, and Mark Jewell, 61, a former roommate, in May of 2021. Thornburg said he slit Jewell's throat, then uncapped a gas line and lit a candle in the room they shared.
In October of that year, a Tarrant County judge ruled there was reasonable cause to believe Thornburg had a mental illness or intellectual disability. The judge ordered an expert to interview Thornburg to determine if he had a disability. The order also asked for information about whether he received treatment recommendations or services in the past.
In December, Thornburg was indicted for the murders of the three people whose charred bodies were found in Fort Worth. Despite the murders, he said that his purpose in life was to serve God and help people. He also said he wanted to be a missionary.
In February 2022, Thornburg was indicted in the death of his former roommate, Jewell, and faced life in prison for murder and arson. Authorities said Thornburg had even spoken at Jewell's funeral.
A few years and rescheduling of court dates later, Thornburg's trial began in November of this year. During the trial, Thornburg said he ate part of Lueras' heart before storing his remains.
Later that month, he was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death.
