Cannibal killer mutilates bodies, eats heart, cuts off penis then sets victims on fire
Jason Thornburg, 44, was sentenced to death after a jury convicted him of the gruesome murders of three people in Tarrant County, Texas, and he also confessed to two other killings
A 44 year old man has been handed a death sentence in Tarrant County, Texas after being found guilty by a jury of the horrific murders of three individuals.
In addition to executing the savage killings, he also dismembered his victims and set their bodies alight.
Over a seven-day period in September 2021, Jason Thornburg took the lives of David Lueras, 42, Maricruz Mathis, 33, and Lauren Phillips, 34, later claiming the trio needed to be sacrificed for religious purposes.
During the lengthy trial, chilling details emerged about what transpired at the Mid City Inn in Euless. The three victims were separately lured into the room Thornburg was renting and subsequently murdered.
The killer slit the throats of two of the victims and strangled Phillips before sexually violating her lifeless body. He also consumed part of David's heart and severed his penis, reports the Mirror US.
Once the victims were dead, Thornburg dismembered their bodies in the motel bathtub and stashed their remains in rubbish bags under the bed.
In the early hours of September 22, the murderer transported their body parts, which he had stored in plastic storage tubs, to a dumpster on Bonnie Drive in Fort Worth.
He deposited the remains inside the dumpster, ignited them and then fled the scene. Firefighters were summoned to the blaze and extinguished the fire, where they discovered the victims' burnt bodies.
Law enforcement caught Jason Allen Thornburg after footage showed his Jeep Grand Cherokee near the dumpster he set ablaze with bodies inside. He even meticulously returned the tubs used to transport the bodies to the shop they were purchased from, demonstrating a chilling level of detachment.
At the trial, evidence of events at the motel convinced the jury of Thornburg's ongoing threat to society, leading them to sentence him to death after just five hours of deliberation. As the verdict was declared, Thornburg remained silent.
Following the conviction, the trial judge declared: "Therefore, Jason Allen Thornburg, you have been adjudged by a jury to be guilty of capital murder. And the juror has answered the special issues making it mandatory that your punishment be death. Therefore, this court sentences you, Jason Allen Thornburgh, to death."
The ruling and death sentence are automatically referred to the Court of Criminal Appeals for review. If confirmed, Thornburg will await execution in state custody, a process that can span several years on death row.
Astoundingly, upon his arrest for the motel slayings, Thornburg reportedly admitted to authorities his involvement in two additional murders.
Thornburg is alleged to have confessed to law enforcement that he murdered his 61 year old flatmate, Mark Jewell, who died in a suspicious house explosion in May 2021, and his ex-girlfriend Tanya Begay in Arizona back in 2017.
Firefighters discovered Jewell's body following a gas explosion at the Fort Worth residence. Begay vanished in March 2017 after last being seen with Thornburg.
According to Fox 4 reports, the FBI still considers the case open as her body has never been found.
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