Theresa Knorr - Female Serial Killer

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 is currently serving two consecutive life sentences at the California Institution for Women in Chino, California. Knorr was born in Sacramento, California. She was the youngest of two daughters born to Swannie Gay (née Myers) and James "Jim" Cross. Swannie Cross had two children, a son and a daughter, from a previous marriage. Theresa's father Jim worked as an assistant cheese maker at a local dairy. He eventually saved up enough money to buy a home in Rio Linda, California. 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 in March 1961. Thereafter, Jim Cross was unable to afford to keep the family home and sold it soon after Swannie's death.