Theresa Knorr
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Theresa Knorr | |
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| Born | March 12, 1946  United States Sacramento, California |
| Penalty | life imprisonment |
| Status | in prison, eligible for parole in 2027 |
| Occupation | unknown |
| Spouse | Clifford Clyde Sanders Robert Knorr |
| Children | Howard Knorr (né Sanders) Sheila Knorr (née Sanders) Suesan Knorr William Knorr Robert Knorr Theresa “Terry” Knorr |
Theresa Knorr (née Cross) (born March 12, 1946) is a mother and murderer, known for severely abusing and murdering two of her children while using the others to facilitate and cover up her crimes.
Theresa Cross was born in Sacramento, California. She was the youngest child in the family and very devoted to her mother. When her mother died in 1961, she went into a depression. At the age of 16 she married Clifford Clyde Sanders. They had a son Howard together, but fought from time to time. This ended when she shot him dead in 1964 while they were living in Galt, California. She was tried but acquitted of the crime, having claimed self defense. She was pregnant at the time and would shortly deliver her second child Sheila in 1965.
In 1966 she married Robert Knorr, seven months pregnant with their child. Her third child, Suesan was born in September 1966, followed a year later by William and in 1968, Robert. Her third daughter, Terry, was born in 1970.
She focused her anger primarily at her daughters and trained her sons to beat and discipline the others. The second daughter, Suesan, was forced to eat large quantities of macaroni and cheese so she would become more plump, because Knorr was jealous of her daughter's skinny physique. One night she was shot in the chest by her mother, which she survived, though the bullet remained in her chest. Later, Theresa Knorr performed a home surgery on Suesan to remove the bullet. The wound became infected and Suesan fell ill. Her mother and brothers then took her to a field where they set her on fire, burning her to death. Theresa Knorr then forced her oldest daughter, Sheila, into prostitution and later thought she contracted an STD. So she murdered her by tying her up and locking her in a closet. Sheila eventually starved to death.
Knorr and her sons were arrested in 1993, after being turned in by her youngest daughter. She first pled not guilty. However, when she learned that one of her sons decided to testify against her, she pled guilty to all charges to avoid capital punishment. She was sentenced to two consecutive life terms. She will be eligible for parole in 2027.
