A jury in Tarrant County sent a Fort Worth man to death row. Jason Alan Thornburg was 44 years old at trial. He killed three people in September 2021. He told police that God told him to do it.
This case matters far past Fort Worth. It took months to even name two of the victims. It also shows how a mother's fight for answers can crack a case wide open.
Thornburg worked as an electrician's helper. Police say he killed David Lueras, 42. He also killed Lauren Phillips, 34, and Maricruz Mathis, 33. He killed them over about a week. The killings happened at a motel in Euless, near Fort Worth.
Police say Thornburg cut up the bodies in a bathtub. He put the pieces in bags and plastic bins. He hid the bins under his bed. Later, he moved the remains to a dumpster on Bonnie Drive in Fort Worth. Then he set the dumpster on fire.
Firefighters put out that fire on September 22, 2021. That is when they found human remains inside. A prosecutor named Emily Dixon later told the court, "They were all lured to their death in that hotel room."
Police say Thornburg ate part of one victim's heart. He told police he knew the Bible well. He said God told him to make "human sacrifices."
At first, police could not name two of the victims. Lauren Phillips's mom did not give up. She filed a report and named Thornburg after her daughter went missing. Lauren was a mom of two sons. Police say she had been staying at the motel. She knew Thornburg from there. Her mom's report helped break the case open.
The trial started in November 2024. His lawyers said he was too sick in the mind to be guilty. Prosecutors said he knew right from wrong. They pointed to how he hid the bodies and ran from police for days. Prosecutor Kim D'Avignon told the court, "What he did was methodical and sadistic."
On November 22, 2024, the jury found Thornburg guilty on three counts of murder. This kind of murder charge can bring the death penalty in Texas. The jury then had to pick his punishment. Prosecutor Kim D'Avignon said, "There is no answer for justice other than the death penalty." The jury agreed and picked death. A judge in Tarrant County made it final on December 4, 2024.
Police say Thornburg also told them about two more killings. He said he killed his old roommate, Mark Jewell, 61. That happened in a house fire in May 2021. He also said he killed his old girlfriend, Tanya Begay, in Arizona back in 2017. He was not put on trial for those deaths in this case.
Cases like this raise hard questions for Texas families. How do police stop someone before he kills again? What happens when police cannot find or name a victim right away? Families in the Rio Grande Valley know these fears too. A missing person case here can also drag on for months before answers come.
Thornburg now sits on death row in Texas. Death row inmates wait years for appeals before any date is set to die. His case will likely stay in court for a long time. For the families of David Lueras, Lauren Phillips, and Maricruz Mathis, the trial is over. The long wait for what comes next is just starting.
