Man Gets Maximum In Dog Attack

Robert Noel, 60, whose dogs mauled a young neighbor to death last year, has been sentenced to the maximum four years in state prison for his role in the fatal attack.

Earlier Monday, a judge threw out a second-degree murder conviction against Noel's wife, Marjorie Knoller, in the 2001 dog mauling, but let stand involuntary manslaughter convictions against Knoller and her husband.

Knoller, 46, could have faced 15 years to life in prison for murder.

Like Noel, she faces up to four years for involuntary manslaughter and having a mischievous dog that killed someone. Her sentencing was delayed until July.

Though Superior Court Judge James Warren said Knoller and Noel are “the most despised couple in this city,” he said the evidence did not support a murder conviction because Knoller had no way of knowing her dogs would kill someone when she left her apartment that day.

"There is no question in this court's mind that in the eyes of the people, both defendants are guilty of murder," Warren said. "In the eyes of the law, they are not."

A college lacrosse coach, Diane Whipple, 33, was torn to pieces by the couple's two huge Presa Canario dogs in their apartment hallway last year. Presa Canarios are an exceptionally ferocious breed known for their fighting ability.

The gory dog mauling trial, which was moved to Los Angeles after extensive publicity in San Francisco, set a number of legal precedents and spurred California to change its law to allow surviving members of gay couples such as Whipple's partner, Sharon Smith, to file wrongful death claims.

"I'm in shock," said Smith. She shed a tear as the judge tossed out the conviction.

CBS News reports Whipple's friends, in court to give pre-sentencing testimony, were equally stunned.

"Right now I'm in absolute shock," Sarah Miller told Judge Warren. "I want to understand how a grand jury and a jury down in L.A. that is unbiased say second-degree murder and you take it away."

The judge, granting a defense motion, ordered a new trial on the murder charge.

District Attorney Terence Hallinan said his office planned to file a motion asking the judge to reinstate the murder conviction, a legal maneuver that could delay sentencing.

``We haven't given up,'' Hallinan told reporters. ``To throw out the murder charge and let stand the manslaughter charge, what was this trial all about?''

Defense attorney Tony Tomburello said it was unusual for a judge to second-guess a jury, but said as horrific as the mauling was the more severe murder charge did not fit the crime in this case.

``The public should understand this is not a second degree murder case,'' Tomburello told reporters. ``He (the judge) is correcting something that was wrong from the beginning.''

Knoller was walking the dogs just before they attacked Whipple — her husband was out of town — and testified that she tried to throw herself between the animals and her neighbor.

The judge threw out the murder conviction despite saying he did not believe much of Knoller's testimony.

"I cannot say as a matter of law that she subjectively knew on Jan. 26 that her conduct would cause death," he said.

Warren also pointed out that Noel was not charged with murder and that Noel, in the judge's view, was more culpable than his wife.

The judge said Noel knew his diminutive wife could not control the dogs, each of which weighed more than 100 pounds, and knew they would have to be walked at some point that day. The burly Noel had been unable to control the animals at least twice previously, the judge noted.

The judge said that both Knoller and Noel were cavalier about Whipple's death and even blamed the dead woman in interviews.

"Their conduct from the time that they got the dogs to the weeks after Diane Whipple's death was despicable," the judge said.

At the hearing, Smith addressed Knoller and Noel, noted that both are lawyers and said: "This has been a game to you. It has been one big legal game. This is not a game to me."

She criticized Knoller and Noel for never apologizing or accepting blame.

"I cannot imagine what Diane went through. You can never imagine how I felt knowing the one I loved died alone," Smith testified. "To aggravate my pain, you've never apologized. You were too busy being lawyers to be human. You fail to accept that your actions killed a person."

To the judge, she said: "Frankly, I am shocked that we are discussing manslaughter and not murder."

In court papers, Knoller's attorneys had argued that her trial lawyer, Nedra Ruiz, did not competently represent her; that the judge improperly allowed prosecutors to associate her with a white supremacist prison gang; and that Knoller could not legally be convicted of both murder and involuntary manslaughter.

Ruiz's courtroom theatrics during the trial included shouting, kicking the jury box and getting down on all fours to re-enact what she described as Knoller's attempts to protect Whipple.