Kriti Mehrotra
Investigation Discovery’s ‘Evil Lives Here: The Face of My Torturer’ delves deep into the tale of Theresa Knorr, who tormented her six children before ultimately taking the lives of two, owing to her sheer need for control. She didn’t want them to lead an independent life and thus influenced almost every aspect even well after she’d managed to rope them into facilitating her atrocious offenses. So now that it’s been a while since the case came to a close, if you’re curious to know more about her sons in particular, as well as their current whereabouts, we’ve got the details for you.
Who Are Theresa Knorr’s Sons?
After tying the knot with Clifford Sanders in September 1962, Theresa Cross gave birth to her first child and son at the age of 17 on July 16, 1963 — Howard Clyde Sanders. Nearly two years later, after she’d already shot and killed Clifford, she welcomed their second child, Sheila Gay Sanders, on March 16, 1965. From her second marriage (1966-1971) to Robert W. Knorr, Theresa gave birth to four more kids —Suesan Marline on September 27, 1966, William Robert on September 15, 1967, Robert Wallace Jr. on December 31, 1968, and Theresa “Terry” Marie on August 5, 1970.
Theresa had two more failed marriages in the ensuing six years, but she had no more children, and that’s when her abusive behavior towards the six she already had escalated. Following her fourth divorce, they resided in Orangevale for about 13 years, where she became reclusive and ensured that her children did too. In fact, it seems like most of them never made it past eighth grade because Theresa pulled them out of school. As they were rarely allowed to go outside, they also became nervous and high-strung, suggesting that they only knew the existence of physical, verbal, and mental abuse.
In 1983, when Theresa relocated to Sacramento, California, she did so with only five of her kids because Howard, a legal adult, had reportedly already left home. It was here that things changed for the worst for the young brood, especially as their mother’s actions resulted in the deaths of Suesan and Sheila in 1984 and 1985, respectively. After all, in both incidents, she’d asked her sons, 16-17-year-old William and 15-16-year-old Robert, to help hide the evidence. The teens had supposedly placed Suesan on the side of an isolated road for Theresa to burn her alive, and they’d disposed of Sheila’s remains.
Where Are Theresa Knorr’s Sons Now?
All of Theresa Knorr’s surviving children, except for Robert Jr., cut off ties with her after they moved out of their Sacramento home in 1986. In fact, she and Robert had relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada, where the latter was eventually arrested, convicted, and sentenced to 15 years in prison for fatally shooting a bartender during an attempted robbery in 1991.
Theresa migrated to Utah shortly after her son’s apprehension, and that’s where she remained until her actions came to light in 1993, thanks to statements given by her youngest, Terry. With that, William and Robert were charged for their involvement as well. In exchange for his testimony against his mother, save for one count of accessory-after-the-fact in connection to Sheila’s murder, all indictments against Robert were dropped. He pleaded guilty and was given three years in prison, which he served concurrently with his sentence in Nevada.
As for William, who was arrested from a suburban area in California, he was only sentenced to probation and ordered to undergo therapy for his hand in Suesan’s homicide. It seems like Howard and William have since preferred to stay away from the spotlight to move on. On the other hand, Robert currently appears to be in federal prison on charges related to child pornography.
