A Texas man was arrested on Monday after he allegedly dismembered three people before lighting their severed body parts on fire in a dumpster.
According to The Daily Beast, 41-year-old Jason Alan Thornburg told Fort Worth police that he committed these murders because he had “an in-depth knowledge of the bible and believed he was being called to commit sacrifices.”
As further cited in the arrest warrant, the Fort Worth Fire Department responded to reports of a trash fire around 6 a.m. last Wednesday. Once they began putting out the fire, the firefighters found the remains of a young woman, adult woman, and adult man amongst the debris. All three victims were badly burned and missing body parts.
The adult man was identified as 42-year-old David Lueras, someone who had known Thornburg and had been staying with him in a motel for several days before he was killed. Police cite that Lueras has a criminal record and that it might have incited his murder.
“Thornburg believed that David needed to be sacrificed,” the warrant said. “He sliced David’s throat, and then cut him into pieces in the bathtub. Thornburg initially hid the remains in his room in trash bags before obtaining Rubbermaid-type tubs to store them in.”
After a few days passed, the two women went to Thornburg’s motel room on separate occasions. According to the warrant, he sliced both of their throats using a Milwaukee-brand straight-blade knife.
“Thornburg said that he sacrificed her as well by cutting her throat and dismembering her body and also storing her remains in the storage tubs,” the warrant said. “An additional female came to his motel. He knew her as [redacted]. Thornburg described initially trying to stab her but said that he ultimately had to strangle her. He cut her body in pieces and also stored her remains in the tubs.”
Once authorities found Thornburg using surveillance footage, he admitted to also killing a girlfriend in Arizona and murdering his roommate in May.
He is currently being held in the county on a $1 million bond.
