Mother's Day

by Dennis McDougal

In June of 1985, while her teenage sons held their half-sister down, Theresa Cross beat her nineteen-year-old daughter Sheila unconscious and then stuffed her into a 2´ x 2´ storage locker. After three days, the knocking, kicking, and cries stopped. Theresa and her sons dumped the girl’s body in the desolate High Sierras. The summer before, Theresa had dug a bullet out of her daughter Suesan’s chest with a paring knife. When Suesan failed to recover (without benefit of doctors or hospital), Theresa and her two sons drove the delirious girl to the mountains, doused her with gasoline, and set her on fire. For nearly nine years, Theresa Cross Knorr got away with murder, until her youngest daughter, Terry Knorr Graves, finally found a cop who believed the incredible story of her two murdered sisters.?That story is all here, the shocking life of a woman whose violence, jealousy, rage, and domination led to a brutally heinous crime of ruthless ferocity.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Audiobook, Ebooks, Mystery, Family

292 pages, Paperback

First published June 27, 1995

About the author

Dennis McDougal was an American author and newspaper journalist, who has been called "L.A.'s No. 1 muckraker". His book Privileged Son was described as "illuminating reading for anyone interested in 20th-century Los Angeles or modern-day newspapering" by The New York Times. A native of Southern California, he lived near Memphis, Tennessee.

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of the woman my family hired to live with and take care of my grandmother at home. My grandmother really liked her and she took good care of her. She was arrested at my grandmother's home and we were all quite shocked when we found out what she had done to her children. Very scary and it's a totally true story. We are mentioned in the book.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall an interesting story. Very sad that somebody could be so mentally ill, and that these children endured all of the hell they endured.
I found that there was a lot of unnecessary detail and information.
It's also a pet peeve of mine that authors finish a book before the criminal goes on trial. I prefer to read true crimes that state the outcome.
This book lacked that, but luckily Google was able to provide me the answers I sought.

[Fishface · Rating 5 out of 5]

And you thought YOUR family was dysfunctional.

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always this author never disappoints and every book he writes is riveting.
Just when you thought you had read it all, someone like Theresa Cross comes along. I read this book many years ago but found it equally as fascinating as I did
the first time. A must-read for sure!

[Jlsimon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not my first introduction to this case. I remembered a Wicked Attraction episode about this case, and an interview I saw given by Terri after the fact. It is one of the truly saddest cases I have ever reviewed. Personal feelings about the case, things I would like to point out:

1. This book is very well researched. There are plenty of primary and secondary sources to convince me of the authenticity of the account.
2. The information in this book is largely verified by law enforcement, news sources, and interviews given by Theresa Cross's children.
3. This book is not for individuals of week constitution.
4. This book is recommended for individuals completing case studies on sociological behaviors, family dimensions, borderline personality disorder, Stockholm syndrome, or psychopathy, case studies on crime or violence being inherited by means of genetics or learned behavior.
5. I would NOT recommend this book to young readers, individuals that have suffered abuse that have not sufficiently recovered from their abusive situation to avoid a PTSD episode. This book is violent. It had to be in order to tell the truth and do justice to Theresa's children, all of those children deserve to be pitied.

This book is a very good narration of the events of the lives of this family.

[Melissa Derr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fascinating story of mental illness, child abuse and the struggle for survival. Unfortunately, it is so poorly written that at times you are not sure who the author is speaking about and it gets a little convoluted.

It amazes me that any human being could be so cruel, especially a woman, a mother, and to her own children! Dreadfully disturbing what we humans are capable of doing. This is very, very shocking and disturbing, not everyone can handle hearing about such things.

If you are interested in this tragic story try reading Whatever Mother Says by W. Clarkson... I hear it was better written.

Also, this version "Mother's Day" has no photographs whatsoever of the family or investigators, etc. I would have liked to see a picture of the survivors at least. I find it to be helpful when I am reading about real people to keep track of who is who if I have a face I can turn to and keep it straight.

[♥ Marlene♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember the story was very weird but that the book was not well written because I only gave it a 7 out of 10.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazingly sad what these children's lives were like!.

[Karen Plummer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd heard of this case and have seen a couple of documentaries on television about it, but reading this book really brought the horrors that six children went through to life. McDougal doesn't really attempt to definitively explain how Theresa Cross became the person she was. He provides a thorough overview of her childhood including her troubled family relationships and her jealousy of her sister Rosemary, and he details her various marriages. But it is the descriptions of her increasingly violent, cruel, manipulative, narcissistic, and delusional behavior that resulted in the murder of two of her three daughters and life-long damage to her other four children that send chills along my spine.

Based on recollections of two of Cross's children, others who knew the family, as well as police and court documents. Highly recommended.

[Terri Weitze · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually like true crime stories. Part of what I like is the procedural (police and trial) part. This book pretty much excludes that. The whole book is about the horror of a woman that was the mother to 6 children and how she did her best to destroy the lives of each of these children. The system totally failed in this family. But the end of the book is just kind of slam, bam, thank you ma'am as the woman eventually plead guilty so we never get to hear much about the legal case against her. So it's okay. Well written, well researched, but the story itself is so sad.

[Ginger Monastyrski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read , fast and easy book that I couldn't put down.

A very interesting look into the tragic story of these children's life's. Having come from an extremely abusive home life, it was interesting and little scary to see how similar my own childhood was and how frightening close to crossing the line my own mother had come.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very much like the scene of a car accident or train wreck... It's horrifying and you know that you shouldn't look, but you can't help yourself. Morbid curiosity keeps you glued to the spot. Mother's Day was a fascinating look at mental illness, abuse, murder, and the very worst of human nature. I read it all in one sitting. It was impossible to put down.

[J.H. Moncrieff · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best true crime books I've read in a while, McDougal tells a compelling story about the horrific murders of Sheila and Suesan Knorr at the hands of their own mother, without ever seeming like he's capitalizing on the goriness of the crimes or sensationalizing them.

My heart goes out to Terry Knorr, who was brave enough to finally speak up and bring her mother to justice. I hope she's managed to find some peace now.

I used to think Terry's brothers were monsters as well for participating in the deaths of their sisters, but through McDougal's account, I see that they were also victims of Theresa Knorr's viciousness. So many lives ruined by this one woman's actions. I hope she never walks free.

Edit: Just read Terry died of a heart attack at 32. How sad. May she rest in peace.

[Crystal M · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book about a mother who abuses, tortures, and murders 2 of her daughters with the help of two of her sons. Unfortunately the book focused more on her marriages and relationships than the abuse/murders and was also written and published before they went to trial. Over half the book is basically just back story that could certainly have been shortened. One of the sons has been released and did an episode of Evil Lives Here which is more informative than this book, season 6 episode 2. It was an okay book.

[Mac Dubista Keso The Bibliobibuli v(=∩_∩=) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know how to say this..

BUT WTF?! It's so sad. No. You will feel betrayed over and over again. I can't believe that there are people like this. Can do things to ruin the life of their family for own sake?!

:(

I gave 3 stars because WTF?! ONLY 30 YRS?! DAMN! UNFAIR! T_T

Will I recommended this?
NO. This is not for everyone to read. But if you like. Then, just be ready.

:(

[Lucretia scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't really say that the book was great. It was an emotional read and an eye opener. Dennis Donegal tells the true story of Theresa Cross Knorr. As a wife, she killed one husband and divorced two others. As a mother, she was a horrific individual who abused her daughters, and eventually killed both of them, burning one alive. Her sons had incestuous relationships with the daughters and the daughters dabbled in witchcraft and voodoo. Theresa deliberately favored her sons and forced one of her daughters into receiving SSI benefits as disabled in order to support the family (she dressed the girl in rags covered with feces and commanded her to act as if she was mute).

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a really hard one to read because it involves child abuse. However, once I heard about this woman I felt compelled to go buy the book about her. Her name is Theresa Knorr and she should have been killed on the spot for what she did.

She got away with the murder of her two daughters for many years before your youngest daughter turned her in.

I'd recommed this book to anyone that is against child abuse. The things that people do never ceases to amaze me.

[Sabrina Rutter · Rating 1 out of 5]

Having first read "What Ever Mother Says" I thought this book would be just as good, but this book was terribly hard for me to get into. I basically skimmed through it after trying several times to force myself to read it all the way through. If you want to read about this case the best book to go with is the one I mentioned above.

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just want read my book and can't get there without all this stuff before if!


Please let me read my book...... this is driving me nuts. I can't even get out of this part without writing a review of something I haven't read yet.

[Kitty Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read approximately 85% of this book. Some parts I just had to skim, they were too painful to read. It was an engaging read though and arouses emotion. Anger to be more specific.

[Beverly Mccarter · Rating 5 out of 5]

this woman had some serious problems.I read this book at least 3 times if not more and have bought and given it away several times based on a true story. worth reading.

[Christy Wagner]

Lost Interest!

[Cassandra Shepherd]

This woman didn't deserve to be a mother. What a twisted fuck.

[Just · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can never understand what makes parents do these unthinkable acts to their own children. Why did she even bother having children if she was just going to abuse them. Those poor kids :(

[Leila · Rating 4 out of 5]

the writing was good but the story wasn't that interesting

[Karla Jespersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

True Crime. Hard to believe no one caught on.

[Annie Booker · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book itself is well written but I just couldn't read any more of what this awful woman did to her daughters.

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really good true crime book which held my interest until the end. A child’s worst nightmare is having a mother who you want to love and obey, but who is manipulative and cruel.

Theresa Cross was a selfish woman who got away with murdering her first husband when a judge felt sympathy for her due to claims that her husband was abusive. This somehow changed Theresa in that she may have felt that since she literary got away with murder, she could get away with other things. She married three more times and although each husband wasn’t the nicest guy, Theresa was not innocent. She often tormented them, accusing them of adultery when they were not cheating and had no intention of cheating. Theresa was very beautiful when she was young and the men felt lucky to be with her.

She had six children, and after her final marriage, her small structure started to gain an enormous amount of weight. She may have been a “closest eater,” as she kept claiming that she was not eating much, and didn’t know why she was gaining so much weight. She blamed her daughter Sheila, saying that Sheila was a witch who put a curse on her. Because as she gained weight, her daughter was thin and growing more beautiful.

Theresa was very controlling of her children. She could be sweet and kind, buying them gifts, spending quality time with them, and then the next moment, she could be cruel, constantly beating them and as she grew heavier, they couldn’t get physically away from her.

She favored her sons over her daughters, but she was cruel to them as well. When they got older, she would try to destroy relationships they had with women, and make them quit jobs if she felt the job was driving them away from her. When they were working, she made her children give her their pay. Many of the jobs were low paying retail work, and her son Howard would work as a dishwasher for restaurants. The children were forced to drop out of school to work, not receiving an adequate education otherwise available to them, due to Theresa’s empowerment over their time.

The endless stories of their mom’s control and torture, particularly over her children were haunting.

Alternatively, she murders two of her daughters with the help of her sons. For years she gets away with murder once again, but her daughter Terry, who fears she may be next to die, finally escapes the cruelty, but cannot escape the fear and the memories. She becomes self-destructive and realizes the only way she can get some of the torment out of her system is to talk about it. She tells her remarkable story and most have trouble believing it. It takes years before she finds an officer who does believe her story and follows through. One reason he believes her is that he knew about the body of one of her sisters, which was so badly distorted, that it was unidentified when it was found.

Eventually, after a long search for Theresa Cross, she is arrested for the murder of her two daughters, Sheila and Suesan, and two of her sons are arrested for their assistance in these murders. There is no sympathy for Theresa at this trial. This time she gets imprisonment: two consecutive life sentences.

[Forgetfulone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dennis McDougal did his research well. He left no stone unturned when delving into the many lives that were affected by Theresa Jimmie Francine Cross Sanders Knorr Pulliam Harris. Yes, she had four husbands! She also had six children, 3 boys and 3 girls, not all by the same father. I also appreciate that the author added parts at the end that included the results of the trials and additional information.

I do feel like some of the book was repetitive, though. The author circles back to events he has already described and rewrites them in a not-too-different manner multiple time and from the perspective of several of her six children (whose perspectives weren't really that different). I just felt that was quite a bit of unnecessary dialogue and description that did not need to be presented more than once because it didn't differ enough among the brothers and sisters. I also wish he had spent more time telling about the trial and the legal aspects of the case.

Theresa Knorr, as she was generally known, was an evil, wicked, woman. Her many crimes included murder, assault, improper discharge of a weapon, child abuse, both physical and mental, allowing her kids to be truant, evading arrest, fraud, and the list just goes on and on. She also dealt with addiction, laziness, jealousy, and a sick need to control others. I'm surprised at how much her children tolerated and appalled at the power and control she had over them as well as the men in her life. It's unimaginable the horror she created in the lives of her own family. Theresa was a monster. The subject matter made this somewhat difficult to read because it's not exactly entertainment as most books are. I don't know how she can live with herself.

I had heard about a young woman being set on fire through one of my true crime podcasts, so I just had to read it. The author did a great job in retelling all of her horrific crimes.

[Renika Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horrible story, nicely written.

I have always felt that there are certain people who should be put to sleep like dogs. This woman is definitely one of those people. I wonder if the lawyer who represented her even believed the excuses he was making for this dog of a woman. And even though she inflicted the torture on these children she is by far not the only one who failed them miserably. These fathers that do "every thing they can" but in my opinion not enough to see their own children should be tried right along with the mother's who perpetrate these type of crimes. That judge that carelessly let her get away with her first murder should have been taken out and beaten. And every person who saw but never spoke or did anything to intervene should all have lived their lives ashamed and died that way, because hesitation is cooperation and there is never an excuse for that. People don't change positions unless they are uncomfortable. So they all had to sleep well at night knowing that these kids were living in such danger and they did nothing to help.