Smoke Carried Their Names

·58 min·5 clips

Wendy and Beth explore why serial killers of color like Jason Allen Thornburg often go unnoticed by the public.

The episode begins with hosts Wendy and Beth introducing their podcast, which focuses on serial killers of color and their often-overlooked stories. They announce the subject, Jason Allen Thornburg, a convicted serial killer linked to murders in Texas and Arizona from 2017 to 2021. Thornburg gained attention for the 2021 Fort Worth killings, where victims were dismembered and burned, and he claimed the acts were ritual sacrifices. The hosts list the victims: Tanya Begay, Mark Jewell, David Lueras, Maricruz Mathis, and Lauren Phillips. They then delve into Thornburg's early life, noting he grew up on the Navajo Nation in a hogan without electricity or running water, and had partial fetal alcohol syndrome. The hosts provide a historical overview of the Navajo Nation, covering events like the Long Walk, boarding schools, uranium mining, and ongoing challenges like poverty and water access. They trace Thornburg's timeline, including his relationship with Tanya Begay, who went missing in 2017, and his later crimes in Texas. The hosts discuss the investigation, where Thornburg was arrested after surveillance linked him to a dumpster fire containing human remains. During interrogation, Thornburg confessed to killing three people, claiming biblical commands for human sacrifices, and admitted to eating part of a victim's heart. The trial in 2024 resulted in a guilty verdict and death sentence. In their analysis, the hosts connect Thornburg's actions to generational trauma from colonialism, mental illness, and warped religious beliefs influenced by forced assimilation. They emphasize the vulnerability of the victims, who were often struggling with addiction or homelessness, and critique systemic issues like the missing and murdered Indigenous women crisis. The episode concludes with reflections on justice for the victims and a call for listener engagement.

As heard by us

The episode keeps Tanya Begay at the center while widening into the structural forces around her disappearance.

Fruit Loops keeps Tanya Begay at the center of Jason Allen Thornburg's case, and that choice gives the episode a steady victim-first shape. Wendy and Beth stay focused on the people around the case and the conditions that framed it, while the culture corner on the missing and…

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Why you'd press play

You get a case centered on Tanya Begay, a culture corner with real weight, and banter that keeps moving.

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