Mom Discusses Guilty Verdict in Dog Maul Trial

March 22, 2002 -- After a San Francisco woman and her husband were convicted in the dog mauling death of Diane Whipple, the victim's mother and the lead prosecutor in the case voiced satisfaction today with the decision.

"It was a great relief," the victim's mother, Penny Whipple-Kelly, said today.

"I was very happy, because I think it was a just verdict. I do believe that it was second-degree murder," she told Good Morning America.

Marjorie Knoller faces 15 years to life in prison for her second-degree murder conviction in the death of neighbor Whipple, 33.

Knoller, 46, and her husband, Robert Noel, 60, were both convicted of involuntary manslaughter and owning a mischievous animal that caused a death.

Knoller and Noel owned the two Presa Canario dogs that attacked and killed their next-door neighbor, Whipple, in the hallway of their apartment building on Jan. 26, 2001.

Noel did not face a second-degree murder charge because he was not present at the time of the attack. He faces up to four years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. Ownership of a mischievous animal carries a penalty of up to three years in prison.

Mother, Juror Never Believed Knoller

Whipple-Kelly stressed she felt Knoller was never sincere in her apologies for the deadly incident.

"When Marjorie Knoller got on the stand and testified, the first thing she said was how sorry she was for the family, and friends of Diane Whipple, and it looked so staged and so contrite," Whipple-Kelly said.

Jury foreman Don Newton agreed.

"We found Marjorie Knoller's testimony throughout to be unbelievable," he told GMA today. "And we do not accept her version of the story of what happened in the hallway."

Knoller's murder conviction was the first in a dog-mauling case in California and was believed to be only the third of its kind inrecent U.S. history.

The case sets a precedent for owners of violent animals, said James Hammer, the lead prosecutor in the case.

"The message is if you know that you have dogs that are vicious and have a propensity tobe aggressive towards people, the law will hold you accountable."

Domestic Partner: ‘Justice Was Done’

Noel and Knoller, both lawyers, sat stoically as the first four verdicts were read. But as the court clerk read out the fifth and final guilty verdict, on the second-degree murder charge, Knoller winced and gasped. She breathed deeply while defense attorney Nedra Ruiz squeezed her shoulders.

After the verdict, Whipple's domestic partner, Sharon Smith, said she felt a level of closure and that she always thought second-degree murder was an appropriate charge in the case.

"There's no real joy in this, but I feel a level of justice was done for Diane today," said Smith. "It's been a long 14 months. It's a very emotional moment for me."

Civil Lawsuits to Follow Heated Criminal Trial

Both Smith and Whipple-Kelly said they looked forward to their consolidated civil lawsuit against Knoller and Noel, which their lawyers hope to bring to trial by the end of the year.

During the five-week trial, prosecutors argued that Knoller and Noel were responsible for Whipple's death because they knew their dogs, Bane and Hera, were vicious and dangerous. The couple, prosecutors argued, could have foreseen — and prevented — the fatal attack. More than 30 witnesses told jurors about previous encounters where they recalled seeing the dogs lunging and snapping at neighbors in the building or passers-by.

But defense attorneys called the mauling death a tragic accident and said no one could have foreseen the dogs' fatal attack on Whipple. During the trial, several defense witnesses recalled Bane and Hera as gentle, nice dogs that showed no signs of aggression. The defense also noted that no one filed complaints about the dogs before the attacks and argued that Bane and Hera were not trained to be vicious.

Noel did not testify at the trial. But Knoller, at times sobbing loudly on the stand, vehemently denied that she could have foreseen the brutal attack on Whipple.

"It was a bizarre event," Knoller said. "How could you imagine a dog that was gentle and loving could do something so horrible and brutal and disgusting and gruesome?"

Bane was identified as the primary attacker in the fatal mauling and euthanized shortly after the attack. Hera somehow escaped her owners' apartment during the attack and her role in Whipple's death remains unclear. She was destroyed in January after Knoller and Noel lost a court battle to keep her alive.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 10 in San Francisco. The trial was moved to Los Angeles because of the intense publicity surrounding the case.