E269: Smoke Carried Their Names

Jason Alan Thornburg is a convicted serial killer linked to murders in Texas and Arizona between 2017 and 2021. He gained national attention for the 2021 Fort Worth-area killings, where victims were dismembered and burned – and for claiming the crimes were “ritual sacrifices.”

This episode was researched & scripted by Wendy & Beth Williams and edited by Minnie Williams.

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Footnotes

Articles/Websites

Fox 4 News. (12/05/2024). Details revealed in gruesome triple-murder trial, Jason Thornburg sentenced to death. Retrieved 02/20/2026 from https://www.fox4news.com/news/details-revealed-gruesome-triple-murder-trial-jason-thornburg-sentenced-death 

Texas Department of Criminal Justice. (n.d.). Death Row Information. Retrieved 02/20/2026 from https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_info/thornburgjasonalan.html

Cohen, Sharon; Hudetz, Mary. (09/04/2018). Haunting stories behind missing posters of Native women. The Associated Press. Retrieved 02/21/2026 from https://apnews.com/article/905e3c1f5b464cadbfc9ea5d1847d448

Rohrlich, Justin. (09/28/2021). Dismembered Trio Found in Texas Dumpster Were Killed in ‘Bible Sacrifice,’ Cops Allege. The Daily Beast. Retrieved 02/24/2026 from https://www.thedailybeast.com/trio-found-in-fort-worth-dumpster-were-killed-by-jason-alan-thornburg-in-bible-sacrifice-cops-allege/

Clarridge, Emerson. (11/08/2024). ‘Did you eat anybody?’ Suspect in Euless motel killings says he took a bite of man’s heart. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved 02/24/2026 from https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/crime/article295282914.html

Clarridge, Emerson. (12/06/2024). Jury determines cannibal serial killer who burned bodies in Fort Worth dumpster should die. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved 02/24/2026 from https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/crime/article296228634.html

Beeson, Maiya. (09/23/2022). Jason Thornburg. Retrieved 02/26/2026 from https://txtruecrimeblog.com/blog-archive/jason-thornburg

de Bruijn, Eline. (09/29/2021). Timeline, criminal history: Here’s what we know about Jason Thornburg. WFAA. Retrieved 02/26/2026 from https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/timeline-criminal-history-what-we-know-jason-thornburg-fort-worth-body-dumpster/287-77caec68-34d7-41b4-a884-2f15a28649b3

Margaritoff, Marco. (09/20/2021). The Gruesome Crimes Of Jason Alan Thornburg, The Texas Serial Killer Suspected Of Making ‘Biblical Sacrifices’. All That’s Interesting. Retrieved 02/26/2026 from https://allthatsinteresting.com/jason-alan-thornburg

Mark, Julian. (10/01/2021). A Texas man invited people into his motel room. Then he sacrificed them and set them on fire, police say. The Washington Post. Retrieved 02/26/2026 from https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/10/01/jason-thornburg-bible-sacrifice-allegations/

Gonzalez, Cristina; Gil, Marina. (10/22/2025). Life inside the Polunsky Unit: What it’s like waiting for execution on Texas’ death row. NBC5. Retrieved 02/26/2026 from https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/life-inside-polunsky-unit-texas-death-row/3930009/

eMedia. (n.d.). Honeeshgish A Navajo Legend. Retrieved 02/26/2026 from https://emedia.uen.org/courseware/lesson/4198/overview#

McPherson, Robert S. (1994). Navajo Indians. History to Go. Retrieved 02/26/2026 from https://historytogo.utah.gov/uhg-first-peoples-navajo-indians/

Indian Health Service. (n.d.). Navajo Nation. Retrieved 03/04/2026 from https://www.ihs.gov/navajo/navajonation/

National Museum of The American Indian | Smithsonian. (n.d.). Struggling with Cultural Repression. Retrieved 03/04/2026 from https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/code-talkers/boarding-schools/

Boarding School Healing. (n.d.). US Indian Boarding School History. Retrieved 03/04/2026 from https://boardingschoolhealing.org/us-indian-boarding-school-history/

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Jason Thornburg. Retrieved 03/04/2026 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Thornburg

Darren. (07/018/2025). Stolen Sisters: Tracing the Roots of the Missing Native Women Crisis. American History. Retrieved 03/04/2026 from https://historycollection.com/stolen-sisters-tracing-the-roots-of-the-missing-native-women-crisis/

Video

Navajo Traditional Teachings. (n.d.). Navajo Historian, Wally Brown, teaches about fire and the traditional sacredness of it. Retrieved 02/27/2026 from https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1831imcmDW/

Music

“Abyss” by Alasen: ●https://soundcloud.com/alasen●https://twitter.com/icemantrap ●https://instagram.com/icemanbass/●https://soundcloud.com/therealfrozenguy●
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

“Dance of Death” by Purple Planet Music http://www.purple-planet.co https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

“Electro Cabello”, “Bleeping Demo” & “Furious Freak” by Kevin MacLeod
https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/full_list.php
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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