She also gained a tremendous amount of weight, and became reclusive to the point of disconnecting the home phone and refusing to allow the children to have visitors. Theresa Knorr was physically, verbally, and psychologically abusive toward her children, behavior which escalated after her fourth divorce. She filed for divorce from Harris in November 1976 after she reportedly found out that Harris enjoyed taking consensual nude photographs of women. Theresa's daughter Suesan grew close to Harris, which made Theresa jealous. Her final marriage was to Sacramento Union copy editor Chester "Chet" Harris, whom she married in August 1976. He divorced her in 1972 after he became convinced that she was having an affair. That marriage began to fall apart when Theresa began leaving her children with Pulliam while she stayed out all night drinking and partying. Theresa would marry twice more in 1971, she married railroad worker Ronald Pulliam. After the divorce, Robert attempted to see his children but Theresa prevented him from doing so. Fed up with his wife's constant accusations, Robert left her in December 1970 and was granted a divorce in 1971. Both spouses were known to be volatile and would constantly beat each other and the kids. However, Theresa's marriage to Robert began to deteriorate after she began accusing her husband of having affairs. on Decemand Theresa "Terry" Marie Knorr on August 5, 1970. The couple had three more children: William Robert Knorr on SeptemRobert Wallace Knorr, Jr. Theresa's third child, Suesan Marline Knorr, was born on September 27, 1966. She soon became pregnant and the couple married on July 9, 1966. Shortly after the relationship with Thornsberry ended, Theresa met and began a relationship with a United States Marine Corps private named Robert Knorr. Thornsberry began to question Theresa when she stayed out for days at a time and ended the relationship a few months later after he discovered that she was having an affair with his best friend. During the relationship, Theresa would routinely leave her children with Thornsberry while she went out drinking. The two began a relationship and eventually moved in together. She regularly drank at the local American Legion hall where she met Estelle Lee Thornsberry, a disabled United States Army veteran. Īfter Sheila's birth, Theresa began drinking heavily. She gave birth to her second child, Sheila Gay Sanders, on March 16, 1965. Several of Sanders' relatives testified that he was neither violent nor abusive, while the prosecution claimed that Theresa killed Sanders "maliciously" and "without provocation." Theresa's older sister testified against her, stating that Theresa was possessive and jealous and "would kill before any other woman could have him." Theresa was acquitted of Sanders' murder on September 22, 1964. 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. Theresa was arrested and charged with Sanders' murder, to which she pleaded not guilty claiming she was acting in self-defense. Theresa became enraged and shot Sanders in the back with a rifle as he was walking out the door. During the argument, Sanders informed Theresa that he was leaving her. 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. The assault charges were subsequently dropped.
Theresa reported the incident to police but refused to press charges against Sanders.
The couple argued frequently and on June 22, 1964, Theresa claimed that Sanders had punched her in the face during one such argument. The Sanders' marriage was rocky as Theresa was possessive and repeatedly accused Sanders of infidelity. She immediately dropped out of high school and became pregnant, and on July 16, 1963, gave birth to her first child, Howard Clyde Sanders. On September 29, 1962, 16-year-old Theresa married Clifford Clyde Sanders, a man five years her senior whom she had met a few months prior.
Thereafter, unable to keep the family home, her father sold it. Theresa was reportedly very close to her mother and was devastated when she died of congestive heart failure in March 1961. Swannie Cross kept the family afloat financially. He developed depression and reportedly took his frustrations and anger out on his family. In the late 1950s, Jim Cross was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, which forced him to quit his job. Her father worked as an assistant cheese maker at a local dairy, eventually saving up enough money to buy a house in Rio Linda. Theresa's mother had a son and a daughter from a previous marriage. Theresa Knorr was born in Sacramento, California, the younger of two daughters born to Swannie Gay (née Myers) and James "Jim" Cross.