Maricruz Reyes Mathis, a 33-year-old Hispanic woman, was one of three victims found dismembered and burned in a dumpster in Fort Worth, Texas, on September 22, 2021. The remains were discovered near a business on Bonnie Drive, close to Camp Bowie West Boulevard. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner determined that Mathis died of homicidal violence. Her body, along with those of 42-year-old Hispanic man David Lueras and 34-year-old white woman Lauren Phillips, had been mutilated and set on fire
in a gruesome act that shocked the community.
Investigators quickly identified Jason Alan Thornburg, a 41-year-old man, as the prime suspect. Thornburg had been staying at the Mid City Inn in Euless, Texas, where he lured each of the victims into his motel room over the course of a week. According to police and court documents, Thornburg slit the throats of both David Lueras and Maricruz Mathis. He strangled Lauren Phillips and then sexually assaulted her corpse. He also mutilated Lueras’ body, severing his penis and consuming part of his heart. Thornburg dismembered all three victims in the motel’s bathtub and stored their remains in trash bags under the bed before transferring them to plastic
