True Crime Documentary
Theresa killed 20-year-old Sheila a year later by beating her, hog-tying her, and locking her in a hot closet with no ventilation, food, or water for six days. On November 4, 1993, investigators filed felony complaints against Theresa and two of her sons. William was found in a Sacramento suburb, where he worked at a warehouse and lived in a peaceful neighborhood. Investigators soon learned of Robert's previous arrest and found him in a Nevada County jail.
The murders were profiled on the A&E series Cold Case Files, featuring an exclusive interview with Terry Knorr Walker. The case was also profiled on the series Most Evil, Wicked Attraction, Evil Lives Here, and Deadly Women. Theresa's older sister testified against her, stating that Theresa was possessive and jealous and "would kill before any other woman could have him."
Shortly after his arrival, Knorr was on patrol when a stray bullet struck him in the shoulder. After a brief stay in a field hospital, he was back on his feet and patrolling the jungle again. This time the bullet hit him in the side, but barely penetrated the skin, earning him another brief stay in the hospital. A few months later, while walking across a bridge in the middle of nowhere, it suddenly blew up. Shrapnel from the explosion ripped through his arms and legs and the explosion threw him back to the ground. His latest injuries earned him a trip stateside and he spent several months recovering at Oakland Naval Hospital.
Her body was packed into a cardboard box and dumped along the side of a road. None of Knorr's children were spared her physical, verbal, and psychological abuse. For years, Knorr abused and tortured her children in various ways, including burning them with cigarettes and beating them. Knorr focused her anger primarily at her daughters and trained her sons to beat and discipline their sisters. Theresa Knorr was born Theresa Jimmie Cross in Sacramento, California. She was the youngest child in the family and very devoted to her mother.
They placed their sister inside a cardboard box and left her near to a nearby airport. The body was discovered in the proceeding few hours but remained unidentified as a Jane Doe. Even though Sheila's body had been removed from the closet, the smell of decomposition still lingered in the apartment.
Theresa and Robert Knorr's marriage began to deteriorate after Theresa began accusing her husband of having affairs. Fed up with Theresa's constant accusations, Knorr left her in June 1969 and was granted a divorce in 1970. After the divorce, Robert Knorr attempted to see his children but Theresa prevented him from doing so.
He received a sentence of three years that will run concurrently with his murder sentence of 1991. William was placed on probation and ordered to undergo therapy. The much-divorced Theresa started to drink even more, gained weight, and became severely short-tempered and abusive towards her children. Not satisfied with mentally torturing her children, she started physically punishing them too.
She coerced Robert and Bill into helping her dispose of Suesan. They drove her to Sierra Nevada, Interstate 80 outside Truckee, laid her down, poured gasoline on her and burned her alive. After escaping theresa knorr from her mother, Terry Knorr attempted to report her sisters' murders to the Utah police but they dismissed her stories as fiction as did a therapist she visited. In 1992, inspired by an episode of ‘America's Most Wanted’, Terry contacted the Nevada County Sheriff’s office and informed them of Suesan’s and Sheila’s murder.