Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.

Texas Briefly

Sunday, February 20, 2022

Man charged in 3 Texas deaths indicted in roommate’s slaying

FORT WORTH (AP) — A man accused of killing three people whose dismembered bodies were found in a burning dumpster in Texas in September was indicted Friday in the killing of his roommate, who was found dead in another fire months earlier.

The Tarrant County district attorney’s office says a grand jury indicted Jason Alan Thornburg, 41, on charges of murder and arson in the death of Mark Jewell, 61.

Thornburg was indicted in December on a charge of capital murder of multiple people in the deaths of David Lueras, 42, Lauren Phillips, 34, and Maricruz Mathis, 33. Their bodies were found in a burning dumpster in Fort Worth.

During an interview with police, he confessed to killing those three as well as his roommate and girlfriend, according to his arrest warrant. He told officers he had in-depth knowledge of the Bible and believed he was being called to “commit sacrifices,” according to the arrest warrant.

Thornburg’s roommate died in a suspicious house fire in Fort Worth in May, the arrest warrant said. At the time, the medical examiner had not been able to determine Jewell’s cause of death.

During the police interview in September, Thornburg said he had slit Jewell’s throat, then uncapped a natural gas line and lit a candle, according to the arrest warrant.

When police asked Thornburg about any other sacrifices, he brought up his girlfriend, according to the arrest warrant.

Tanya Begay, a Navajo woman from Gallup, New Mexico, has been missing since taking a trip to Arizona with Thornburg in 2017.

The FBI on Friday had no update on her case.

Thornburg remained jailed in Fort Worth on $1 million bond. Thornburg’s attorneys did not immediately return calls for comment.

Father of Texas teen accused in triple killing indicted

DALLAS (AP) — A man accused of driving his son to and from a Dallas-area gas station convenience store where the 14-year-old is accused of fatally shooting three teens and wounding a fourth has been indicted on a capital murder charge.

A Dallas County grand jury on Thursday indicted Richard Acosta Jr., 33, on a charge of capital murder of multiple people. He remained jailed Friday on $3 million bond.

Acosta’s son, Abel Elias Acosta, has been on the run since the Dec. 26 shooting in Garland. Police have charged the teen with capital murder and warned that he is armed and dangerous.

Garland police Lt. Pedro Barineau said Friday that authorities “don’t have any specific information telling us where he is.”

San Marcos Record

(512) 392-2458
P.O. Box 1109, San Marcos, TX 78666