A Texas man named Jason Thornburg was convicted of killing, dismembering, and burning three people as ritual sacrifices. On Wednesday, November 20, 2024, he was found guilty of capital murder and is awaiting sentencing, which could result in his receiving the death penalty or spending the rest of his life in jail without parole.
Thornburg committed three murders in September 2021. He then dismembered their bodies and stored them in an Euless hotel under his bed. Thornburg confessed to detectives that he ate one of the victim’s hearts as well as other body parts. Finally, he set fire to the three bodies in a Fort Worth dumpster.
Not only that, but Thornburg confessed to two earlier murders. In May 2021, he reportedly killed his roommate, Mark Jewell. He then set fire to the residence, killing Jewell inside. Thornburg also confessed to killing his fiancée in 2017 as a sacrifice. The Daily Mail reported Thornburg’s girlfriend missing at the time.
Investigators testified about Thornburg’s admission during both of these murder trials in court. Thornburg’s attorneys argue that when the murders occurred in 2021, their client was insane and suffering from significant mental health concerns.
When the news of the three victims’ horrible murders spread, the entire Texas town was shocked. This included Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes, who stated that he had never seen anything like it. “This was shocking; it’s unsettling, and we knew bringing someone to justice in the case was paramount,” said the lawyer.
Homicide Detective Sergeant Joe Loughman agreed with Noakes, stating that Jason Thornburg used a “straight blade knife” to dismember the bodies of his victims. “I really couldn’t even go into the psyche of someone that is able to do this,” Loughman told the newspaper. “He doesn’t have an extensively violent criminal history, but he did not give us any details that would ascertain [a motive].”
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the first responders showed up on scene that day and the investigators who investigated this,” said Chief Noakes at the time. “It’s not something anyone should have to see, but they did the job and they did it well.”