FORT WORTH, Texas — A jury determined a man convicted of killing and dismembering three people whose bodies were found burning in a Fort Worth dumpster more than three years ago should be sentenced to death.
A jury convicted Jason Thornburg of capital murder for the September 2021 killings last month, rejecting an argument from Thornburg’s attorneys for Thornburg to be found not guilty by reason of insanity. Closing arguments in the punishment phase of the trial began Wednesday morning after 14 days of testimony in the Criminal District Court No. 3 in Tarrant County.
Thornburg sat still and did not show any emotion or reaction as he was sentenced to death. The jury that sentenced him wiped their tears as they sobbed.
Thornburg was arrested in 2021 after the bodies of the victims were found in west Fort Worth on Bonnie Drive. The victims were identified as David Lueras, 42, Lauren Phillips, 34, and Maricruz Reyes-Mathis, 33.
Following the sentencing, the victims' family members took the stand to address Thornburg directly.
Norma Harris, whose sister Maricruz Mathis was killed, described her sister as beautiful, strong and outgoing.
"Your actions have caused a lot of pain," Harris said. "The worst part of all this is that even after we do get justice, we will still be missing our loved ones."
According to an arrest warrant, Thornburg knew and met the victims at the Mid City Inn in Euless and confessed to his involvement in their deaths. He also "went into intimate details" about how he killed them, according to the warrant.
Before the killings, Thornburg could be seen reading the Bible in a chair outside his motel room.
The warrant stated Thornburg claimed he was being called to commit sacrifices and that he was also involved in two other separate killings, his roommate Mark Jewell in 2021 in Texas and in 2017, his girlfriend Tanya Begay in Arizona.
Prosecutors decided to seek the death penalty against Thornburg in 2022 and his is the first death penalty case tried in Tarrant County since 2019.
"He is a psychopath. He is evil," prosecutor Amy Allin said.
Thornburg’s own attorneys called him a serial killer and a cannibal but argued his behavior came from fetal alcohol syndrome.
"Jason got there because that's the position his mother put him in," Thornburg's defense attorney Bob Gill said.
Begay's sister, Edith Tsoie, said even after the sentencing, they still don't have closure because her body was never found.
"We still need to bring her home. We never had a funeral," Tsoie said. "We don’t know where she's at, until then there won't be justice or closure."
Attorney Kim D'Avignon said the only justice in this case was the death penalty.