Bible-Quoting Texas Killer Who Lured Victims for ‘Sacrifice’ Sentenced to Death

A Texas serial killer was sentenced to death after being found guilty of murdering at least three people and cannibalizing their organs. The 45-year-old Jason Alan Thornburg is currently on death row for brutally killing three victims in a week in September 2021 as part of a "human sacrifice."

During the investigation, Thornburg claimed he had a deep understanding of the Bible and was “called to commit sacrifices.” He lured his victims to his motel at the Mid-City Inn in Euless, Fort Worth, by pretending to be a devout man and reading the Bible outside his room.

In mid-September 2021, Thornburg slaughtered his roommate, 42-year-old, David Lueras, by slitting his throat. He did not stop at killing him and went on to tear his body into pieces. The serial killer then consumed a piece of Lueras’s heart and also cut off his genitals.

34-year-old Lauren Phillips and 33-year-old Maricruz Mathis became his next two victims later that week. He butchered one of the women by cutting her throat, and strangled and stabbed the other. Once again, he dismembered the victims’ body parts. He is also accused of s—----ly assaulting Phillips’ body after her death.

The murders came to light after Thornburg dumped the victims’ remains in a nearby dumpster and set it on fire on September 22, 2021. Local residents alerted the police about the fire. Upon checking the surveillance footage, authorities saw Thornburg dumping the remains and fleeing the scene in his car.

The police launched a manhunt and were able to arrest Thornburg five days later. As his trial began in Tarrant County, more details about his crimes came out. It was established that Thornburg had murdered two people previously as well. He confessed to killing his former roommate, 61-year-old Mark Jewell, in May 2021.

The killer admitted that he slit Jewell’s throat and then caused a gas explosion at their home to make it look like an accident. Earlier in 2017, he murdered his girlfriend, Tanya Begay, in Arizona. Her remains were never found. Meanwhille, Thornburg maintained that he killed all these people for sacrifice.

His defense argued that he should be found not guilty by reason of insanity. His lawyers claimed he suffered from issues even before he was born, as his mother dealt with drug abuse and alcoholism. The defense further stated that Thornburg suffered a brain injury in 2002, which made him listen to strange voices in his head.

On the other hand, the prosecution argued that Thornburg was a manipulator who preyed on innocent victims by projecting himself as a religious man. “He knows Scripture well. It’s his weapon of choice. He uses it to get vulnerable people to lower their guard,” Tarrant County assistant district attorney Amy Allin said in a statement.

The court ultimately sided with the prosecution and found Thornburg guilty of three counts of capital murder. He was sentenced to death in December 2024. The serial killer is now incarcerated at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas.