Theresa Knorr

Case record: Theresa Knorr

Overview

Theresa Knorr (née Cross) was convicted of torturing and murdering two of her children and of using other children to facilitate and cover up the crimes. She was later sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.

Background

Theresa Jimmie Cross was born in Sacramento, California on March 12, 1946. Her father was Jim Cross and her mother was Swannie Gay Cross. She was the youngest child in the family and was very devoted to her mother.

When her mother died in 1961, Theresa went into a depression. Swannie Cross died of congestive heart failure, and she was buried at Sunset Lawn Cemetery on March 6, 1961.

Family relationships and early life details

Theresa had an older sister, Rosemary, born in 1944. She also had two older stepsiblings, William and Clara Tapp. The stepchildren were from Swannie’s first marriage, which ended with the death of her husband in 1939.

Jim Cross later fell ill with Parkinson’s disease and was forced to quit his job. Following his diagnosis, Jim Cross fell into a deep depression.

Friends of the family described Theresa as a loner and jealous of her sister Rosemary. Outsiders felt Swannie favored Theresa over Rosemary.

Marriages and children

At age 16, Theresa married Clifford Clyde Sanders. They had a son named Howard Clyde Sanders. Their marriage ended after Theresa shot Clifford Sanders dead in 1964 while they were living in Galt, California. Theresa was tried and found not guilty. She was pregnant at the time and delivered her second child Sheila in 1965.

In 1966, Theresa married Robert Knorr when she was seven months pregnant with their child. Their children included Suesan (born September 1966), William (born in 1967), Robert (born in 1968), and Theresa (Terry) Marie Knorr (born in 1970).

Theresa’s abuse affected all of her children, including physical, verbal, and psychological abuse, and it included beating and burning children.

The offence

Theresa’s crimes included killing her oldest daughter Suesan and killing her second daughter Sheila.

Suesan Theresa murdered her oldest daughter Suesan by shooting and then refusing medical help, leading to her death. The death involved medical neglect and subsequent disposal actions. She was also subjected to handcuffing and being left without professional treatment earlier in the events described.

After Suesan recovered from an initial shooting injury without professional treatment, she was later killed after Theresa insisted on removing the lodged bullet. The later procedure was performed with Mellaril capsules and liquor as anesthetic, with instructions for Robert to remove the bullet using a box cutter. Infection followed, and Suesan developed jaundice and became delirious before dying.

Theresa then coerced Robert and Bill into helping dispose of Suesan. They drove her to Sierra Nevada, Interstate 80 outside Truckee, laid her down, poured gasoline on her and burned her alive.

Sheila Theresa later murdered her daughter Sheila in 1985. Sheila’s death involved starvation and dehydration after she was locked in a closet under strict orders that the door be kept closed and that the other children were not permitted to give her any food or water.

After Sheila died, her body was packed into a cardboard box and dumped along the side of a road. She remained unidentified for years afterward.

Theresa later ordered a fire to destroy evidence, including setting fire to the family’s Sacramento apartment.

Investigation

After long delays and missing identifications related to Jane Doe remains, investigators collected evidence from the scenes connected to the remains of two victims described as Jane Doe #4873/84 and Jane Doe #6607-85.

Jane Doe #4873/84 In the events described on July 17, 1984, a charred human corpse was discovered near Highway 89. Emergency services personnel arrived, and Tahoe City Detectives Russell Potts and Larry Addoms requested that criminologist Michael Saggs and Placer County Sheriff Donald J. Nunes be brought in. Investigators collected more than 30 pieces of evidence, including items listed at the discovery scene and around the body.

After soil sampling and photographing the area, Dr. A. V. Cunha performed the autopsy. Investigators determined the victim was female, with the breasts visible despite severe charring, and the victim was estimated to be between 18 and 22 years old, 5 feet 3 inches tall, and weighing approximately 115 pounds.

The body showed signs of abuse, with two puncture wounds discovered on the victim’s back. Investigators noted an ovarian tumor indicated severe beating at some time prior to death. The immediate cause of death was smoke inhalation. Following the autopsy, Jane Doe’s fingers were removed and sent to Sacramento for prints, and her maxilla and mandible were also removed for dental records.

Jane Doe #6607-85 In May 1985, Elmer Barber discovered a homemade casket at Martis Creek Campground while making his rounds. He notified the Nevada County Sheriff’s Department, and investigators searched the area. They were unable to make a positive identification at the time, and the cause of death was listed as undetermined.

Theresa’s efforts after Sheila’s death included ordering a house fire on September 29, 1986 using charcoal lighter fluid, after which firefighters dispatched to the scene arrived; there was little damage to the home, and investigators concluded the blaze had been started deliberately.

Arrest

After Terry contacted authorities and investigators linked the case details to the Jane Doe remains, felony complaints were filed against Theresa and two of her sons.

On November 4, 1993, investigators filed felony complaints against Theresa and two of her sons. Investigators later traced Theresa via a driver’s license application. She was arrested by Placer County officials after being located at a Salt Lake City address while she was packing her belongings.

She refused to cooperate and requested a lawyer.

Trial

Theresa was arraigned in a Salt Lake City courtroom on November 15, 1993. She was charged with two counts of murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit murder, and two special circumstances—multiple murder and murder by torture—charges that could result in a death sentence.

Theresa pleaded not guilty and was remanded to the Sacramento County Jail.

Judge J. Richard Couzens ordered William Robert Knorr prosecuted as an adult on the same day.

Robert Knorr struck a deal with prosecutors and agreed to testify against Theresa in exchange for a lighter sentence. One month later, all charges against him except a single count of conspiracy regarding Sheila’s death were dropped.

Theresa changed her plea to guilty on October 17, 1995 after learning of Robert’s deal and deciding she did not want to face a death sentence.

Sentencing

Judge William R. Ridgeway characterized Theresa’s crimes as "callousness beyond belief," and sentenced her to two consecutive life sentences on October 17, 1995.

Theresa was eligible for parole in 2027. If she lived to see it, she would have been 80 years old.

Other details

Prior prosecution involving Clifford Sanders

In the case involving Clifford Sanders’ death in 1964, Theresa entered a plea of innocent by reason of self-defense on August 4, 1964 in a Sacramento courtroom. Her trial was scheduled to begin three weeks later in Judge Charles W. Johnson’s courtroom.

Deputy District Attorney Donald Dorfman wanted a first-degree murder conviction and began opening statements to the jury on August 30, 1964. The jury deliberated for one hour and 45 minutes, and on September 22, 1964, the jury found Theresa Jimmie Francine Sanders not guilty.

Quotations and statements

Judge William R. Ridgeway characterized Theresa’s crimes as "callousness beyond belief."

Dorfman told the jury: "This is clearly premeditated first-degree murder," and "Not every murderer can look like the witch in 'Snow White.' She is 18 and pregnant, but that doesn't overcome the fact she maliciously shot and killed her husband without provocation."

Popular culture reference

The Afflicted, renamed Another American Crime for overseas release, was described as a 2010 horror film inspired by the Theresa Knorr case, with a substantially compressed timeline. The film ended differently than the real case, including a fictional ending involving the youngest daughter killing her mother and one of her brothers before committing suicide.