Grand jury indicts man accused of killing, dismembering three people at Euless motel
A grand jury in Tarrant County on Monday indicted on capital murder a man who authorities allege killed three people and cut off their limbs in Euless in September.
Jason Thornburg was indicted in the deaths of David Lueras, Lauren Phillips and Maricruz Mathis, according to the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office. The victims’ dismembered bodies were found in a burning dumpster in Fort Worth.
Police have said that Thornburg told detectives that he killed Lueras, Phillips and Mathis over five days in mid-September at Mid City Inn in Euless. Thornburg said that he strangled Phillips. To kill Lueras and Mathis, Thornburg said that he used a Milwaukee straight blade knife to cut their throats, police have said.
Police have also said that Thornburg told detectives that he killed his roommate Mark Jewell at their house in Fort Worth in May and his girlfriend Tanya Begay outside Texas in 2017.
Police arrested Thornburg on Sept. 27 in connection with the triple homicide.
Thornburg told the detectives that he has in-depth knowledge of the Bible and believed he was being called to commit sacrifices, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
A Tarrant County mental health magistrate judge on Oct. 19 ruled that there was reasonable cause to believe Thornburg, 41, has a mental illness or intellectual disability.
This story was originally published December 13, 2021 at 7:16 PM.
