All Episodes

July 15, 2024 13 mins

On March 3rd, 2017, 36-year-old Tanya Begay was last seen with her boyfriend, Jason Thornburg. In 2021 Jason admitted to killing Tanya after he was arrested for the murder of three people in Fort Worth, Texas. Tanya has never been found. Tanya is described as a Native American female, 5’5” tall, 135 lbs with brown hair and brown eyes. She has a rose tattoo on each breast, a feather tattoo on her left foot, and a music note tattoo behind her right ear. If you have any information about the disappearance of Tanya Begay, please contact the Gallup Police Department at 505-722-2231.

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Thank you for listening to Mysteries and Mimosas.

(00:14):
My name is Max and with me is your co-host Aria.
Hi everyone.
Well hello to you Aria.
You thought I forgot about the Pet of the Week didn't you?
I kinda did.
Well today's case is brought to you by the Pet of the Week.
His name is Jackson, he's a Black Lab, and he's shared with us by none other than listener

(00:35):
Bill.
Not only is Jackson a Black Lab, he's also 100% purebred good boy.
He is.
He's adorable.
Yeah I love Black Labs.
Those are like the best dogs ever.
They are.
They're so good.
As always, please take a minute to rate and follow our show.
Every time we do an episode, we share information on social media in an effort to spread the

(00:57):
word about the cases we cover.
So please do us a favor and follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Mysteries and Mimosas podcast.
You can also visit our website at mysteriesandmimosas.net where you'll find pictures and our source
material.
Yeah thanks and remember every Monday we bring you the Mystery Monday episode and the idea
behind that is to bring you an episode about a case that doesn't have a lot of information

(01:22):
or it's not very well known so hopefully we can reach somebody who has information on
these cases.
Today's case is about 36 year old Tanya Teresa Begay from Lyup, Arizona.
On March 3rd of 2017, Tanya was on her way to see her family in Gallup, New Mexico, which
is approximately two and a half hours away.

(01:43):
While on her way to Gallup, Tanya stopped off in Tehachi, New Mexico to see her aunt.
It was there that Tanya and her boyfriend Jason Thornburg decided to steal her aunt's
2004 Dodge Neon.
This was the last time Tanya was ever seen or heard from again.
The Dodge Neon was later found abandoned and Tanya was nowhere to be found.
That's unfortunate.
Yeah so as you can imagine, Tanya's family grew worried about Tanya and on March 19th

(02:09):
of 2017, Tanya's mom reported her missing to the Gallup Police Department.
Tanya's mom told police she last spoke with Tanya on March 3rd and learned Tanya was in
Lyup, Arizona with Jason who had family in Dilken, which is only about 40 miles away
from Lyup.
Tanya's family immediately suspected Jason might have done something to Tanya because

(02:32):
less than a month before Tanya was reported missing, the Gallup Police Department investigated
a domestic violence incident involving Jason.
Apparently during this domestic violence incident, Tanya was taken to the hospital after Jason
threw an empty coffee pot at her, striking her in the face.
Wow.
Yeah.

(02:52):
What a jerk.
No kidding.
On March 22nd, Jason was arrested but as soon as police questioned him about Tanya, Jason
immediately asked for a lawyer and on June 22nd, a judge dismissed the charges against
Jason because a lack of participation from Tanya.
Well because she's missing.
Nobody knows where she's at.
Right.

(03:13):
So those charges were dismissed without prejudice, which means the case could be refiled and
brought back to court in the future.
Right.
If Tanya is ever able to make it to court.
Right.
Exactly.
So during the course of the missing persons investigation, police were able to ping the
location of Tanya's phone and discovered the last known locations of that phone were pinged

(03:35):
on Tribaland in Tehachi, New Mexico and Dilken, Arizona.
Because the phone was on Tribaland, the missing person case was turned over from the Gallup
Police Department to the Navajo Nation Police.
Yeah.
This is just another example of how the MMIW cases are handled.
You know, because she's reported missing in Gallup and the police learned Tanya's last

(03:56):
location was on Tribaland, they have to hand that investigation over to the Tribal police,
which only creates jurisdictional barriers.
You know, I mean, it would be nice if these agencies would work together, but sometimes
with when those jurisdictions are an issue, the case might get bounced back and forth.
Exactly.
And then all that bouncing back and forth, so much is lost in that process, unfortunately.

(04:19):
And just so everybody remembers the MMIW cases are the missing and murdered indigenous women.
And most often these cases just don't get the attention that other cases get.
And so there's all kinds of issues with reporting and you know, they're not being taken serious
and they just kind of get lost and forgotten.
And as we've heard in depth from Trent James, how difficult it is to be a tribal police

(04:42):
officer to investigate these cases, he really just breaks the surface on all the issues
surrounding how these cases just get ignored.
Well, the frustrating part about Tanya's case is how much effort her mom had to go through
just to report her missing.
When she hadn't heard from Tanya, she initially contacted the Dilkin Police Department.
When police spoke with Jason's family, they were told that Jason was seen at his mom's

(05:07):
house on March 14th, but Jason was alone and they saw him leave in that Dodge neon.
Apparently three days later on March 17th, a neighbor reportedly saw Thornburg back at
his home in Gallup, New Mexico.
And on March 19th, one of Jason's family members apparently asked Jason about Tanya and Jason

(05:27):
said Tanya was at his home.
Next Tanya's mom tried to report Tanya missing with the Navajo Nation Crown Point Police
District two days before her report to the Gallup Police Department.
But apparently the Crown Point Police never filed the report, which is why she ended up
reaching out to the Gallup Police Department for help.

(05:48):
Because police with the Gallup Police Department learned Tanya was last seen in Tehachi, New
Mexico, they were unable to take the case because the jurisdiction lies with the Navajo
Nation.
Yeah, like I said, I mean, there's so many issues surrounding cases that fall on tribal
land and the jurisdiction is just one.
So she makes the report to Dilken Police, but they only learned Jason was there alone.

(06:10):
So she tries to make the report with the tribal police in Crown Point, but they don't take
a report.
Exactly.
They don't take the report.
So then she goes to the Gallup Police for help.
And then the Gallup Police are like, no, that's outside of our jurisdiction.
That's with the Navajo Nation Police.
So she's kind of going in circles at this point.

(06:30):
Man, that's got to be so frustrating.
And meanwhile, all this time is being wasted and stuff could be done.
Investigative leads could be followed.
And a lot of times when you have, man, especially specialized location data from carriers, time
is of the essence to get that information preserved and get those warrants signed off
so that you can get them served.

(06:51):
Because as time goes on, that information goes away.
Right.
It's incredibly frustrating that she's had to go through this much effort just to get
the initial missing persons report filed.
It shouldn't be like that.
In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, murder is the third
leading cause of death among American indigenous women.

(07:13):
And the murder rate of indigenous women is 10 times the average national murder rate.
The cases are under reported and sometimes not investigated at all.
Yeah, that's terrible.
It is.
Four years later in May of 2021, police in Fort Worth, Texas launched an investigation
into the suspicious death of 61 year old Mark Jewell.

(07:34):
So several years later now.
Yeah.
So yeah.
So we're in 2021 now.
Mark was found dead in a house fire.
And when police began looking into Mark's death, they learned Mark's roommate was none
other than Jason Thornburg.
But Jason wasn't arrested for Mark's death because detectives didn't have enough information
to tie Jason to the death or to the house fire.

(07:57):
So in July of 2021, Jason moved into the Mid-City Inn in Fort Worth.
That's where the story takes a crazy turn.
On July 22nd, at about six in the morning, firefighters responded to a dumpster fire
in the 3100 block of Bonnie Drive, which is only about 30 minutes from the Mid-City Inn

(08:17):
where Jason was staying.
Inside the dumpster, police found the dismembered bodies of Lauren Phillips, Mara Cruz Mathis,
and David Luera.
After reviewing surveillance cameras, police learned a Jeep Grand Cherokee was connected
to the murders.
After cross referencing nearly 7,000 vehicles in the area, detectives recognized Jason's

(08:38):
name as a registered owner of a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
This immediately caught their attention because they knew Jason was a suspect in Mark Jewell's
suspicious death.
Wow, there's just a stark difference between what was going on in New Mexico and Arizona
and Fort Worth.
That's what I was going to mention.
They cross referenced 7,000 vehicles to find a suspect.
Yeah, it's such a stark difference.

(09:00):
You have a mom that can't find the right jurisdiction to report her daughter missing.
These detectives in Fort Worth are just doing hard, difficult police work and they're combing
through all these vehicle registrations just to hope for a lead.
Yeah, it's sad and you know all too well, there's just not always that consistency across

(09:23):
jurisdictions and across states, right?
In law enforcement, unfortunately.
Right, and there's a lot of issues with law enforcement across the country.
I mean, obviously, Fort Worth has the resources.
They have probably very well-trained detectives who have experience.
And I'm not taking anything away from the agencies in New Mexico and Arizona, but when

(09:43):
you get into those rural areas, they just don't have that experience that you get in
a large metropolitan area.
Exactly.
They just don't have the resources a lot of times.
As soon as detectives turned their attention to Jason, they were able to find a security
surveillance footage tying Jason to the murders.
Oh, wow.
Yeah.
On September 21st at about 1030 at night, the day before the dumpster fire, Jason was

(10:09):
caught on surveillance cameras wearing a full body suit, similar to that of a person who
paints or installs drywall.
Jason was seen loading several large containers from the motel room into a Jeep before driving
away.
Shortly after midnight, Jason returned to the hotel and put another load of containers
into the Jeep before leaving for a second time.

(10:29):
At about 1.30 AM, Jason is then seen removing containers from the back of the Jeep and returning
to his hotel room.
After learning of Jason's involvement in the three murders, Jason was arrested at work
in Arlington, Texas on March 22nd.
When police questioned Jason, he admitted to killing Lauren, Mary Cruz, and David.

(10:51):
Jason said he killed them as part of a sacrifice after reading scripture from the Bible.
Jason also admitted to killing Tanya and his roommate Mark.
However, Tanya has never been found.
This is such a sad and unfortunate case.
Let's hope Tanya's family gets the answers they're looking for.
So Tanya is described as five foot, five inches, 135 pounds.

(11:12):
She's a Native American female with brown hair and brown eyes.
Tanya has a scar above her left eyebrow and a small scar underneath her left eye.
Her ears are pierced.
She has a tattoo of a rose on each breast.
A tattoo of a feather on her left foot and a music note behind her right ear.
Tanya was 36 years old at the time of her disappearance and she would be 43 years old

(11:34):
today.
If you have any information about the disappearance of Tanya Begay, you are encouraged to contact
the Gallup Police Department at 505-722-2231, the New Mexico Department of Public Safety
at 1-800-457-3463 or Crime Stoppers at 505-722-6161.

(12:00):
And of course, you can always contact us directly by visiting our website at mysteriesandmimosas.net
or you can send us an email at mysteriesandmimosas.gmail.com.
If you have a tip, have any information, we could pass that information along for you.
Thank you for doing that case.
It's super interesting.
I mean, the whole story is just something out of a movie, right?

(12:22):
I mean, Jason Thornburg is doing some kind of sacrificial killing and dismembering bodies
and then burning them in a dumpster.
I'm curious though, you know, he admitted to killing Tanya and yet he didn't say where
she was.
And maybe that's something that, you know, investigators are still trying for, but, you

(12:42):
know, if you remember, he asked for a lawyer, you know, when they asked him about her initially.
Yeah, it's just a sad case all the way around, you know, with the MMIW difficulties, you
know, the, not to mention the domestic violence element to this.
I mean, clearly he has some anger issues and probably that wasn't the first time that he
victimized Tanya, which is probably why her mom was really worried from the beginning.

(13:06):
She probably knew something was wrong based on her involvement and knowledge of how Jason
treated Tanya.
I know he claims that the killings were ritualistic, sacrificial killings, but it makes me wonder
because she was, you know, set to testify against him for a domestic case.
Right, exactly.
And then all of a sudden she disappears.

(13:29):
So it kind of makes you wonder what the real motive was behind that.
Yeah, it really does make you kind of wonder.
So, but again, if you have any information, please reach out and thank you for listening.
In the meantime, please join us as we raise our glasses to Tanya Begay and Tanya's family.
Cheers.
Beverly Hills 1998
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie

Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.

24/7 News: The Latest

24/7 News: The Latest

The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.