Sheila Knorr

Theresa Jimmie Francine Knorr (née Cross; born March 14, 1946) is an American woman convicted of torturing and murdering two of her six children while using the others to facilitate and cover up her crimes.

She was acquitted of murdering her first husband and was also considered a suspect in the unsolved murder of her sister.

She is currently serving two consecutive life sentences at the California Institution for Women in Chino, California.

Theresa Knorr was born on March 14, 1946, in Sacramento, California, the younger of two daughters born to Swannie Gay (née Myers) and James "Jim" Cross.

Theresa's mother had a son and a daughter from a previous marriage.

Her father worked as an assistant cheese maker at a local dairy, eventually saving up enough money to buy a house in Rio Linda.

In the late-1950s, Jim Cross was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, which forced him to quit his job.

He developed depression and reportedly took his frustrations and anger out on his family.

Swannie Cross kept the family afloat financially.

Theresa was reportedly very close to her mother and was devastated when she died of congestive heart failure on March 2, 1961.

Unable to keep the family home after that, her father sold it.

On September 29, 1962, a 16-year-old Theresa married 21-year-old Clifford Clyde Sanders, whom she had met a few months earlier.

She immediately dropped out of high school and became pregnant, and on July 16, 1963, she gave birth to her first child, Howard Clyde Sanders.

The marriage was rocky; Theresa was possessive and repeatedly accused Sanders of infidelity.

The couple argued frequently and on June 22, 1964, she claimed that he had punched her in the face during one such argument.

She reported the incident to police but refused to press charges against Sanders; the assault charges were subsequently dropped.

On July 6, 1964, the day after Sanders' birthday, the couple were arguing because he had spent his birthday out with friends instead of at home.

During the argument, Sanders allegedly informed Theresa that he was leaving her.

Theresa became enraged and shot Sanders in the back with a rifle as he was walking out the door; killing him.

Theresa was arrested and charged with Sanders' murder, to which she pled not guilty claiming that she was acting in self-defense.

During her trial, Theresa, who was pregnant with her second child, claimed that she had shot Sanders because he was a violent alcoholic who had physically abused her.

Several of Sanders' relatives testified that he was neither violent nor abusive, while the prosecution claimed that Theresa killed Sanders "maliciously" and "without provocation."

Sanders' sister, Lydia Hansen, testified that Theresa was possessive and jealous and "would kill [Sanders] before any other woman could have him."

Theresa was acquitted of Sanders' murder on September 22, 1964.

She gave birth to her second child, Sheila Gay Sanders, on March 16, 1965.

After Sheila's birth, Theresa began drinking heavily.

She regularly drank at the local American Legion hall where she met Estell Thornsberry, a disabled United States Army veteran.

The two began a relationship and eventually moved in together.

During the relationship, Theresa routinely left her children with Thornsberry while she went out drinking.

Thornsberry began to question Theresa when she stayed out for days at a time and ended the relationship a few months later, after discovering that she was having an affair with his best friend.

Shortly after the relationship with Thornsberry ended, she met and began a relationship with a United States Marine Corps private named Robert Knorr.

She soon became pregnant and the couple married on July 9, 1966.

Theresa's third child, Suesan Marline Knorr, was born on September 27, 1966.

The couple had three more children: William Robert Knorr on September 15, 1967; Robert Wallace Knorr, Jr. on December 31, 1968; and Theresa "Terry" Marie Knorr on August 5, 1970.

However, Theresa's marriage to Robert deteriorated after she began to accuse him of having affairs.

Both spouses were known to be volatile and would constantly beat each other and the kids.

Fed up with his wife's constant accusations, Robert left her in December 1970 and was granted a divorce in 1971.

After the divorce, Robert attempted to see his children but Theresa prevented him from doing so.

Theresa married twice more.

In 1971 she wed railroad worker Ronald Pulliam, but the marriage fell apart when she began to leave her children with Pulliam while she stayed out all night drinking and partying.