Maricruz Mathis

Maricruz Reyes Mathis was remembered by her sister as a beautiful, strong, and outgoing woman. The 33-year-old Hispanic woman loved the holidays and was involved in church groups, according to her mother. Her family believes she was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time when her life was tragically cut short in September 2021.

Over the course of one week, a man who had been staying at the Mid City Inn in Euless, Texas, lured Maricruz and two other people into his motel room. That man, Jason Alan Thornburg, later confessed to the killings, telling investigators he believed he was being called to commit sacrifices. Inside the room, Thornburg slit Maricruz's throat. He also killed 42-year-old David Lueras and 34-year-old Lauren Phillips.

After the murders, Thornburg dismembered all three victims in the motel bathtub, placing their remains in trash bags and storing them in plastic containers under his bed. In the early morning hours of September 22, 2021, he drove the containers to a business dumpster on Bonnie Drive in Fort Worth. He dumped the body parts inside and set them on fire. Firefighters responding to the blaze made the gruesome discovery. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner later identified the victims and determined Maricruz died of homicidal violence.

Fort Worth Police investigators used surveillance video to identify Thornburg's vehicle near the dumpster around the time the fire was set. When brought in for questioning, the 41-year-old confessed in detail to killing Maricruz, Lueras, and Phillips. He also admitted to killing his roommate, Mark Jewell, in a house fire in May 2021 and his girlfriend, Tanya Begay, in Arizona in 2017.

Thornburg was indicted for the capital murder of multiple persons. Prosecutors from the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office announced they would seek the death penalty, calling the crimes the work of one of the "worst of the worst criminals." During the trial, prosecutors described Thornburg as a "psychopath" and "evil," arguing that he used his knowledge of the bible as a "weapon of choice" to lure vulnerable people. His defense attorneys argued he was not guilty by reason of insanity.

In November 2024, a Tarrant County jury found Jason Thornburg guilty of capital murder. On December 4, 2024, after just a few hours of deliberation in the punishment phase, the same jury sentenced him to death. Following the sentencing, Maricruz's sister, Norma Harris, addressed Thornburg in court. "Your actions have caused a lot of pain," she said. "The worst part of all this is that even after we do get justice, we will still be missing our loved ones." Maricruz's mother had previously stated her belief that Thornburg deserved the death penalty. As of December 2024, the case was concluded with Thornburg's death sentence, beginning a nightmare's end for the victims' families.