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The Mother From Hell
To neighbors, she was the brave single mother...
Raising her five kids alone in a rundown section of Sacramento, Theresa Cross Knorr seemed like the ultimate survivor. But her youngest daughter, 16-year-old Terry, told police another story: one almost too terrible to believe.
But accused of imprisoning her children in a house of horrors...
According to Terry, Theresa - no longer the petite brunette she once was - had turned insanely jealous of her pretty eldest daughters and enlisted the help of her two teenaged sons in a vicious campaign against their sisters.
Of beating, torturing and killing her own flesh and blood...
Terry's gruesome tale told how Theresa had drugged, handcuffed and shot 16-year-old Suesan, allowing her wounds to fester, until the day she ordered her sons to burn their sister alive. Next, Terry said Theresa severely beat 20-year-old Sheila and then locked her in a stifling broom closet, so that when the girl finally starved to death, her brothers dumped her body in the same desolate mountain range where they had cremated Suesan.
She could be one of the most evil murderesses of our time...
It took Terry five agonizing years to convince authorities to investigate her grisly accounts of burning flesh, starvation and torture...of a mother from hell, so sadistic and so deranged, she had become her children's own executioner.
Raising her five kids alone in a rundown section of Sacramento, Theresa Cross Knorr seemed like the ultimate survivor. But her youngest daughter, 16-year-old Terry, told police another story: one almost too terrible to believe.
But accused of imprisoning her children in a house of horrors...
According to Terry, Theresa - no longer the petite brunette she once was - had turned insanely jealous of her pretty eldest daughters and enlisted the help of her two teenaged sons in a vicious campaign against their sisters.
Of beating, torturing and killing her own flesh and blood...
Terry's gruesome tale told how Theresa had drugged, handcuffed and shot 16-year-old Suesan, allowing her wounds to fester, until the day she ordered her sons to burn their sister alive. Next, Terry said Theresa severely beat 20-year-old Sheila and then locked her in a stifling broom closet, so that when the girl finally starved to death, her brothers dumped her body in the same desolate mountain range where they had cremated Suesan.
She could be one of the most evil murderesses of our time...
It took Terry five agonizing years to convince authorities to investigate her grisly accounts of burning flesh, starvation and torture...of a mother from hell, so sadistic and so deranged, she had become her children's own executioner.
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First published January 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 118 reviews
April 1, 2015
MY ONCE SECRET VICE
True crime, my once secret vice, but now you all know about it. This unlovely genre, true crime - it’s so sleazy and it’s got everything. The piquant pleasures of the do it yourself abattoir, the discovery in the dumpster, the jolly uncle, the picnic spot, the man walking his dog, the folorn poster, the crucial forensics, the fortunate CCTV, the plausible absence, the pretty niece, the remains gnawed by animals, the cellar, the other hidden cellar, the bulletproof alibi, the trophy collection, the videos, the hard drive, the doormat wife, the unlikely suspect, the unusual receipt, the police overtime, the televised appeal, the incredulous son, the legwork, the blurred photograph, the last sighting, the uncertain identification, the kind repair-man, the white van, the planned randomness, the last house on the left hand side of the road, the intimidated girlfriend, the perfect hindsight, the happy faces, the clenched handkerchiefs, the driver’s license, the two and two put together, the sharpened screwdriver, the same gun, the misidentification, the derisory sentence, the anguished appeal, the idiocy of the jury, the blunt instrument of the law, the subtle instrument of the crime, the willing victim, the smiling man.
YOUR FAMILY IS A SMALL CULT
This little book recounts the murder by the clearly deranged Theresa Knorr of two of her daughters, I won’t go into the details because it’ll put you off your dinner. The Knorr family were pure trailer trash. What we learn here, if we didn’t already know, is that the crazy family is run on similar lines to the crazy cult, whereby the leader (usually male but in this case not) empowers his inner circle (in this case the sons) and scapegoats some lowly minions (in this case the daughters, one by one). The power structure is well known and clearly the life Inside operates so strongly on the mind that completely different rules apply when you’re Inside to those which apply Outside. We see this when guys like Josef Fritzl or Philip Garrido can live quite normal Outside lives whilst being high priest of their own lunatic sex cult as soon as they cross the threshold back Inside. Same phenomenon in the concentration camps – the top Nazis had nice little houses and sat with their nice pretty families every night a few hundred yards away from where human beings were being gassed and shot. This situation always strikes sane people as the acme of horror yet it’s the same every time, so we should expect it. I guess the word is compartmentalisation.
HOW LITTLE WE KNOW ABOUT EACH OTHER
How little we know, even in this information-soaked world, of how other lives are lived. Fiction in books and movies can sometimes throw some light into the dark parts of our society but even Mike Leigh, Ken Loach, Irvine Welsh, Carolyn Chute or Dorothy Allison necessarily by their acts of imaginative sympathy shape their underclass materials and therefore inevitably bring them into our moral universe. In true crime books, even (perhaps especially) those as atrociously written as this one, there is no redemption of art, no glimpse of understanding, just a sudden appalled trip into a shrieking chaos of people who seem to have no defence against each other’s rapacity. We want to regard the poor as noble, as capable of love and not just sex, as economically displaced, as people who would thrive if they just had this thing or that thing happen to them (an interested teacher, an inspired government outreach programme), and this ingrained desire sentimentalises everything it touches – so hail Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh’s brilliant black humour portrait of junkie life in Glasgow, and hail Last Exit to Brooklyn too, that was pretty unflinching, and hail true crime books whose just-the-facts approach steamcleans away most of these false perspectives. The only people otherwise who write about the underclass are the sociologists who are trying to figure out how to fix them. I did come across one great attempt to present these lives in all their hyperactive detail, Random Family by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, and it was alienating, exhausting, depressing and defeating. I need more brave writers who are willing to live in the trailer parks and sink estates here in England, and report back what they see, because I’m not going anywhere near these places if I can help it. The drawbridge is up, the attack dogs are roaming freely just inside the razor wire fence. And this is no way to live, for them or for us.
True crime, my once secret vice, but now you all know about it. This unlovely genre, true crime - it’s so sleazy and it’s got everything. The piquant pleasures of the do it yourself abattoir, the discovery in the dumpster, the jolly uncle, the picnic spot, the man walking his dog, the folorn poster, the crucial forensics, the fortunate CCTV, the plausible absence, the pretty niece, the remains gnawed by animals, the cellar, the other hidden cellar, the bulletproof alibi, the trophy collection, the videos, the hard drive, the doormat wife, the unlikely suspect, the unusual receipt, the police overtime, the televised appeal, the incredulous son, the legwork, the blurred photograph, the last sighting, the uncertain identification, the kind repair-man, the white van, the planned randomness, the last house on the left hand side of the road, the intimidated girlfriend, the perfect hindsight, the happy faces, the clenched handkerchiefs, the driver’s license, the two and two put together, the sharpened screwdriver, the same gun, the misidentification, the derisory sentence, the anguished appeal, the idiocy of the jury, the blunt instrument of the law, the subtle instrument of the crime, the willing victim, the smiling man.
YOUR FAMILY IS A SMALL CULT
This little book recounts the murder by the clearly deranged Theresa Knorr of two of her daughters, I won’t go into the details because it’ll put you off your dinner. The Knorr family were pure trailer trash. What we learn here, if we didn’t already know, is that the crazy family is run on similar lines to the crazy cult, whereby the leader (usually male but in this case not) empowers his inner circle (in this case the sons) and scapegoats some lowly minions (in this case the daughters, one by one). The power structure is well known and clearly the life Inside operates so strongly on the mind that completely different rules apply when you’re Inside to those which apply Outside. We see this when guys like Josef Fritzl or Philip Garrido can live quite normal Outside lives whilst being high priest of their own lunatic sex cult as soon as they cross the threshold back Inside. Same phenomenon in the concentration camps – the top Nazis had nice little houses and sat with their nice pretty families every night a few hundred yards away from where human beings were being gassed and shot. This situation always strikes sane people as the acme of horror yet it’s the same every time, so we should expect it. I guess the word is compartmentalisation.
HOW LITTLE WE KNOW ABOUT EACH OTHER
How little we know, even in this information-soaked world, of how other lives are lived. Fiction in books and movies can sometimes throw some light into the dark parts of our society but even Mike Leigh, Ken Loach, Irvine Welsh, Carolyn Chute or Dorothy Allison necessarily by their acts of imaginative sympathy shape their underclass materials and therefore inevitably bring them into our moral universe. In true crime books, even (perhaps especially) those as atrociously written as this one, there is no redemption of art, no glimpse of understanding, just a sudden appalled trip into a shrieking chaos of people who seem to have no defence against each other’s rapacity. We want to regard the poor as noble, as capable of love and not just sex, as economically displaced, as people who would thrive if they just had this thing or that thing happen to them (an interested teacher, an inspired government outreach programme), and this ingrained desire sentimentalises everything it touches – so hail Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh’s brilliant black humour portrait of junkie life in Glasgow, and hail Last Exit to Brooklyn too, that was pretty unflinching, and hail true crime books whose just-the-facts approach steamcleans away most of these false perspectives. The only people otherwise who write about the underclass are the sociologists who are trying to figure out how to fix them. I did come across one great attempt to present these lives in all their hyperactive detail, Random Family by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, and it was alienating, exhausting, depressing and defeating. I need more brave writers who are willing to live in the trailer parks and sink estates here in England, and report back what they see, because I’m not going anywhere near these places if I can help it. The drawbridge is up, the attack dogs are roaming freely just inside the razor wire fence. And this is no way to live, for them or for us.
January 12, 2020
Theresa Cross Knorr is capable of killing her own children. And not just that, but also capable of making certain they were hideously tortured before they finally found that final peace. The bitch is still alive, 73 years old. What a world!
If you can't take reading about horrendous child abuse, and a mother capable of it, I'd skip this book. What this family was put through is beyond fathoming. Thankfully, eventually, one daughter, Terry, was able to get someone to believe her, and the wheels started turning to bring her mother to justice. The book was published before the trial, so, you'll have to Google to know the final outcome.
3 Stars = I liked the book. I'm glad I read it.
Victims
If you can't take reading about horrendous child abuse, and a mother capable of it, I'd skip this book. What this family was put through is beyond fathoming. Thankfully, eventually, one daughter, Terry, was able to get someone to believe her, and the wheels started turning to bring her mother to justice. The book was published before the trial, so, you'll have to Google to know the final outcome.
3 Stars = I liked the book. I'm glad I read it.
Victims
September 25, 2018
I got 3/4 into this, before realising I have not only read this already, but actually own it... just with a different cover... nevermind!
I enjoyed it, it was well written and Theresa Knorr is a complete psychopath. She reminded me in part of Gertrude Baniszewski whi was another demon-like excuse for a mother. The resilience of Terry Knorr, especially when she finally tells her story and is ignored by law enforcement is staggering. A book that is deeply traumatic.
I enjoyed it, it was well written and Theresa Knorr is a complete psychopath. She reminded me in part of Gertrude Baniszewski whi was another demon-like excuse for a mother. The resilience of Terry Knorr, especially when she finally tells her story and is ignored by law enforcement is staggering. A book that is deeply traumatic.
February 16, 2008
This should get either a 1 or a 5. The first half of the book is fantastic! This is a very sad, sadistic mother that abuses her children horribly & manipulates them into helping her kill her other children. One of the most chilling, disturbing books I have ever read.
BUT...the 2nd half of the book is WASTED! Why? Because the author didn't wait the 6 months until the trial was over!!! So I had to Google her name & find out what the end result was. So the last part of the book is all speculation on the psychological aspects, etc. In my opinion, it's just fluff to fill pages; it could just as well be a mix of numbers and letters...meaningless.
I don't recommend this book & I believe there is another about this subject, but tells the entire story and doesn't leave you hanging.
BUT...the 2nd half of the book is WASTED! Why? Because the author didn't wait the 6 months until the trial was over!!! So I had to Google her name & find out what the end result was. So the last part of the book is all speculation on the psychological aspects, etc. In my opinion, it's just fluff to fill pages; it could just as well be a mix of numbers and letters...meaningless.
I don't recommend this book & I believe there is another about this subject, but tells the entire story and doesn't leave you hanging.
April 25, 2010
The words blood lust and mother should never be used in the same sentence. Those words are so unsettling it is the reasons for nightmares. What would cause a mother to torture and kill her own daughters while caring and loving of her sons. How does anyone grow up in a house of horrors yet be strong enough as an adult to finally end it. Justice served? I say no and never will be.
There was no insanity or madness in this woman. She was born with no soul. Evil hid behind the title of mother and manifested itself in the form of a human being. But... it was only a cloak, that when unveiled, revealed a true spawn of Satan, a demon unmasked albeit to late.
There was no insanity or madness in this woman. She was born with no soul. Evil hid behind the title of mother and manifested itself in the form of a human being. But... it was only a cloak, that when unveiled, revealed a true spawn of Satan, a demon unmasked albeit to late.
September 3, 2021
Πω, ρε φίλε, τι κατεστραμμένη οικογένεια ήταν αυτή. Που λέτε, η Τερέζα Κρος (ή Κνορ ή Σάντερς) μέχρι τα είκοσι τέσσερά της είχε κάνει έξι παιδιά, είχε σκοτώσει τον πρώτο της σύζυγο (δήθεν σε αυτοάμυνα) και είχε κάνει κάνα δυο γάμους ακόμα. Μετά άρχισε για τα καλά η παράνοια, όταν μεγάλωνε μόνη της τα παιδιά: Βασανιστήρια, ξύλο, φτώχεια, πείνα, πολλά και διάφορα. Άρχισε να παίρνει κιλά, να ασχημαίνει, και βλέποντας τις κόρες της λεπτές και σχετικά όμορφες, μάλλον άρχισε να τα χάνει. Μην τα πολυλογώ, η κυρά Τερέζα σκότωσε τις δυο από τις τρεις έφηβες κόρες και τις πέταξε σαν να ήταν σκουπίδια, με τη βοήθεια των δυο από τους τρεις γιους της! Η οικογένεια μετά διαλύθηκε, αυτή άλλαξε παραστάσεις, άλλαξε ζωή, άρχισε να δουλεύει σαν νοσοκόμα ηλικιωμένων σε άλλη πόλη, για δέκα χρόνια είχε ξεφύγει από τα πλοκάμια του Νόμου, μέχρι που η μικρότερη κόρη, αυτή που γλίτωσε τον θάνατο (αλλά όχι τα σοβαρά ψυχικά προβλήματα) αποφάσισε να πει την ιστορία της, έστω κι αν στην αρχή κανείς δεν την έπαιρνε στα σοβαρά. Τέλος πάντων, πρόκειται για ένα αρκετά ανατριχιαστικό βιβλίο, γιατί περιγράφονται πραγματικά γεγονότα: Όλα αυτά τα τρελά συνέβησαν, τα βασανιστήρια, οι φόνοι, οι αιμομιξίες, τα πάντα! Η Τερέζα Κρος όχι μόνο σκότωσε δυο από τα παιδιά της, αλλά ουσιαστικά κατέστρεψε και τις ζωές των υπόλοιπων. Τώρα, όσον αφορά τη γραφή, δεν μπορώ να πω ότι έχει κάτι το ιδιαίτερο, σε μερικά σημεία είναι σίγουρα αρκετά γλαφυρή, αλλά γενικά δεν τη λες λογοτεχνική, αλλά περισσότερο δημοσιογραφική, πάντως αν μη τι άλλο κάνει ικανοποιητικά τη δουλειά της, βοηθάει με τη σειρά της στη γρήγορη ανάγνωση του βιβλίου. Για να περάσει η ώρα είναι ό,τι πρέπει, ειδικά αν σας αρέσουν οι αληθινές ιστορίες με φόνους και κάθε είδους εγκλήματα. (7.5/10)
July 26, 2020
Have you heard about this true crime case where a mother starved and burned one of her daughters to death? It's hard to believe that a mother would actually be capable of doing this so that's one reason I decided I had to read this one because I had to know more about this monster.
Turns out this psycho mom killed another daughter too and is suspected of killing a few other people as well. Her last and youngest daughter managed to escape and lived to tell the police what her mother had done.
Apparently this book was trying to cash in on the notoriety of the psycho mom's arrest and murder trial, but it went to print before the trial even began, so I had to find out about the trial on-line. Lots of good information regarding this case so you might want to read about it on-line rather than buying the book.
Turns out this psycho mom killed another daughter too and is suspected of killing a few other people as well. Her last and youngest daughter managed to escape and lived to tell the police what her mother had done.
Apparently this book was trying to cash in on the notoriety of the psycho mom's arrest and murder trial, but it went to print before the trial even began, so I had to find out about the trial on-line. Lots of good information regarding this case so you might want to read about it on-line rather than buying the book.
November 26, 2007
How anyone could do these things to their own children is beyond me. That lady was one sick and twisted bitch.
December 16, 2017
The story is grisly and admittedly interesting. But the writing, oh la! Clarkson must be a pseudonym for a high-school student. A couple quick examples (no spoilers):
I'll leave these as a pair, but there are easily a couple dozen references:
I GET IT: SHE WAS FAT. According to the author's portrayal, Knorr was vain; she couldn't stand people younger and prettier and thinner than she was. Her weight may have played a role in her personality, and in the types of abuse she could mete out, but still! Author, I GET IT, she was FAT. I don't need it beaten into me.
"Investigators noted that the Jane Doe had three pierced right ears and two pierced left."--- Yikes, I would notice a woman with 5 ears, too! Doesn't take an investigator for that.
"Many of her dresses, skirts, and trousers were red. Red was her favourite color. It tended to be a very crimson shade of red. The colour of blood."--- dun dun dunnnnn
I'll leave these as a pair, but there are easily a couple dozen references:
"The only thing that stuck in the detective's mind was that Theresa Knorr looked very strange, with her black, greasy hair down to her waist and very overweight."
"She weighed 250 pounds and had her hair pulled back like a sumo wrestler."
I GET IT: SHE WAS FAT. According to the author's portrayal, Knorr was vain; she couldn't stand people younger and prettier and thinner than she was. Her weight may have played a role in her personality, and in the types of abuse she could mete out, but still! Author, I GET IT, she was FAT. I don't need it beaten into me.
April 19, 2009
Reading this was about as much fun as falling down an elevator shaft. I selected because it was on a best of true crime books. This mother murdered 2 of her teenage daughters for no reason. There was endless beating & starvation. Then she suddenly leaves town, reinvints herself and becomes a home caregiver to the ederly & loved by everyone. Since this book was written 15 years ago at the time of her arrest I will have to research what became of her at trial. To sum it up - Depressing!
August 1, 2011
I didn't like the way the book was written. Too much unnecessary information such as all the background info about the police officers, etc. Then to top it off it doesn't tell you how the story ended. I felt like it was a complete waste of time to read with no payoff in the end. It was a pretty decent read up until the end but I don't know that I would recommend it to anyone else to read.
May 13, 2007
This lady was a sick ass bitch!
This book disgusted me more than any other book I have read.
This book disgusted me more than any other book I have read.
May 18, 2009
This woman had nothing but jealousy for her daughters. This book is very graphic and gives a detailed account to the abuse her daughters suffered before she finally killed them.
July 12, 2016
Sick and twisted. A horrifying tale.
December 10, 2019
I would have given this book 5 stars if it was written after the trial,which it was notI had to Google this case to find out the outcome. I really could not put the book down because it was so interesting to read.I would like to know how her daughter Terry is doing since helping police to solve the case of her sisters murders by her mother and her two sons. An interesting read for anyone interested in True Crime.
December 27, 2011
Theresa Cross Knorr, a mother of five, was a single mother who began to have kids at a very young age. By the time she was 20, she already had four of her children. She was very beautiful, and she really loved how she looked. As she began to age, and her two daughters began to grow, she began to lose her great image and the girls began to get it. She hated this so much, that she began to go crazy. She began to force her sons to abbuse them, rape them, and eventually help her kill the girls. One day she went to the girls school, took them out, and forced them to prostitute. The money that they made would all have to go to the mom. The olddest girl was the first girl she went after. The mom shot her in her stomach and threw her in the tub. Luckily she lived, and she got better after 2 months. She told her mom that if she let her go she wouldn't tell anyone, the mom said yes but only if she let her take out the bullet that was still inside of her. The girl said yes, and the mom began to cut open her backk and took out the bullet. The girl lost so much blood that she got in a comma, so her mom took her to the mountains, covered her wit gas and the son det her omn fire. The mom sat therer until she was completely burned. She went home and burned down the house before she got caught and didnt want to leave any evidence. The next dauhter was accused of being pregnant, since she was a prostitute. So the mom forced her to sit in a 6 by 6 box and didnt feed her. She finally starved to death, and the sons took her back to the mountain where the other girl was burned, and she was burned also. The last daughter, escaped and was able to go to th ecops, but the cops didnt believe her at first, so she was forced to go back home. She was able to escape once again and that time she was able to convince the cops. The mom and sons were caught and are now in jail surving for murder.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading real life stories, that could scare you to death. This book is very intense and sad. It will not let you stop reading and will make you think about how people could do this, and make you want to read more about it.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading real life stories, that could scare you to death. This book is very intense and sad. It will not let you stop reading and will make you think about how people could do this, and make you want to read more about it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 30, 2016
This rates among the most disturbing books I've ever read. The writing isn't great, but from later interviews and narratives that I've seen and read, it was accurate and non-embellished. It's interesting that this book was in my feed today, as last week a 10-year-old in my city was injected with meth by her mother so that her mother's boyfriend and his female cousin could rape her. The little girl's body was found burning in the bathtub stabbed, choked, arms missing, and one leg nearly severed. Even as a counselor, I have a difficult time understanding how mothers can not only fail to protect their children, but intentionally torture them. Whatever happened to the lioness instinct?
March 3, 2016
Well-written. I am reading several books on a similar topic. The others are The Franklin Cover-up, Painted Black. While these are not pleasant subjects they help identify the perpetrators and shed light on what is going on behind closed doors. True-life horrors. Where are our missing children? Why are people mentally ill. What about Foster Care? Child abuse? cover-ups.
July 27, 2011
I grew up in the same town this happened in. I was the same age as the children in this book. A lot of things in this book played way to close to home for me.It was a chillin, horrible story of the worst mother a child could have. My heart goes out to the survivors.
July 11, 2014
I can't imagine the terror these children felt every day of their lives. I can't imagine how they must have felt when they laid their heads down at night never knowing what was in store for them when they woke up. I pray for these children that are now grown , that they will find peace .
September 21, 2007
OMG how can a mother be so cruel to the kids she gave life to?
August 13, 2014
I hate to give it 4 stars because of the morbidity of it, but it was very well written. Terribly sad though. Wish the mother would have had the balls to admit it though.
August 20, 2016
37th book read in 2016.
Number 260 out of 529 on my all time book list.
Review Pending:
Number 260 out of 529 on my all time book list.
Review Pending:
March 27, 2021
Fantastic read - couldn't put it down! I definitely recommend this book to all true crime fans. Mother from hell is putting it mildly. This book was both tragic and fascinating
June 16, 2008
True Crime. Very creepy story of a creepy mother and her violent, controlling ways.
February 22, 2024
Okay so as an avid true crime lover this is a story I kind of heard of but never dived into. Let me start with saying this mother shouldn’t have EVER reproduced. The amount of abuse that was in this household was ungodly. The author does a wonderful job painting a picture with their writing. The writing is very well done. Poor Suesan and Sheila never ever stood a chances and the oldest brother can burn right with the mother imo. If you love true crime and wild crazy depraved stories than this is for you. With that being said PLEASE check your trigger warnings as there are several in this book.
November 6, 2018
A good book about an horrific case of torture and murder, however I feel that the author could have waited until the case had gone to trial so that he could have presented a conclusion to the entire case. As I know from my own research, the mother was convicted of the crimes she was accused of but I felt like the author should have covered all bases, instead of getting caught up in the moment and rushing to get a book about it on the shelves. Would still recommend it for any true crime fans.
May 18, 2023
Very interesting read really enjoyed it from start to finish
November 11, 2019
Confession: I never read a lot of true crime novels. Most of my true crime knowledge comes from podcasts, TV shows, long form articles, and longer nights of Wikipedia wandering. This is the first true crime book I've read in recent memory, and it was so hard to get through the inter-library loan that I considered buying the book used through Thrift Books.
I am very glad I held out for the library book, because this was not worth the $18 the standard paperback went for, nor was it worth the $5 for the mass market paperback.
This book sucked. The subject matter is terrible enough that author commentary is barely needed, but the author seems to be more grossed out by Theresa Knorr's weight than, y'know, the fact that she burned one daughter alive and left the other one to rot in a tiny closet, followed by ongoing abuse of a third daughter. Everything was "she didn't like that there were other more beautiful women around" (which, okay, may well have been a motivating factor for Knorr), and "she ballooned up to over 200 lbs" (my god! what a horrific fate, she said sarcastically, while weighing roughly the same weight), and "she waddled everywhere she went" and she was disgusting and she was fat, she was a fatty fat fat McFatterson. I fucking get it, Wensley. You think fat people are disgusting. Go back to worshiping Tarentino or something.
I realize that this came out in the 90s (had to crank that puppy out, right? couldn't even hang out long enough for the verdict), and those were... simpler times, times when Jim Carrey was considered to be funny and everybody mocked the intern that the president made give him a blowjob, but come on. This woman was a horrifying murderer and you're still going on about how she was beautiful before she put on weight.
I am very glad I held out for the library book, because this was not worth the $18 the standard paperback went for, nor was it worth the $5 for the mass market paperback.
This book sucked. The subject matter is terrible enough that author commentary is barely needed, but the author seems to be more grossed out by Theresa Knorr's weight than, y'know, the fact that she burned one daughter alive and left the other one to rot in a tiny closet, followed by ongoing abuse of a third daughter. Everything was "she didn't like that there were other more beautiful women around" (which, okay, may well have been a motivating factor for Knorr), and "she ballooned up to over 200 lbs" (my god! what a horrific fate, she said sarcastically, while weighing roughly the same weight), and "she waddled everywhere she went" and she was disgusting and she was fat, she was a fatty fat fat McFatterson. I fucking get it, Wensley. You think fat people are disgusting. Go back to worshiping Tarentino or something.
I realize that this came out in the 90s (had to crank that puppy out, right? couldn't even hang out long enough for the verdict), and those were... simpler times, times when Jim Carrey was considered to be funny and everybody mocked the intern that the president made give him a blowjob, but come on. This woman was a horrifying murderer and you're still going on about how she was beautiful before she put on weight.
October 2, 2013
After seeing this book plenty of times at my local used bookstore, I finally picked it up from my personal library. The front cover of teh book says this is a "true crime classic". I assume this means it is one of the stories that gained the most national attention from the time it was printed until know. I can see why even now 29 years after the murders of Seusan and Sheila were commited, it still hold people's attention to the case.
Theresa Knorr was a very evil mother and a horrible person. Her crimes are unforgiveable. It is so sad to read what she did to ger daughters and even sadder to read about how her and her sons killed them. The author was right on when he wrote at the beginning of the book on how a mother is supposed to be and how we might find it hard to believe that there are mothers like Theresa Knorr. The version of the book that I read, was written before Theresa and her sons Willian & Robert went to trial, so I will be doing some research on this case to see how much time they got. I am also curious to know how Terry is doing know. I don't know how you can recover after going through a childhood such as hers.
Theresa Knorr was no "mommy dearest" and I believe she does have some mental issues. Anyone who commits the crimes she did has to not be sane in the brain.
Theresa Knorr was a very evil mother and a horrible person. Her crimes are unforgiveable. It is so sad to read what she did to ger daughters and even sadder to read about how her and her sons killed them. The author was right on when he wrote at the beginning of the book on how a mother is supposed to be and how we might find it hard to believe that there are mothers like Theresa Knorr. The version of the book that I read, was written before Theresa and her sons Willian & Robert went to trial, so I will be doing some research on this case to see how much time they got. I am also curious to know how Terry is doing know. I don't know how you can recover after going through a childhood such as hers.
Theresa Knorr was no "mommy dearest" and I believe she does have some mental issues. Anyone who commits the crimes she did has to not be sane in the brain.
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