Subject:  Why did it take so long ? |
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N5RDC
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Date Posted: 03:00:31 03/28/01 Wed
p News
2 Lawyers Charged in Dog Attack
The Associated Press
Mar 28 2001 1:08AM
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Two lawyers were charged Tuesday night in the
death of a college lacrosse coach who was mauled by the attorneys'
huge dogs in the hallway of her apartment building.
Marjorie Knoller, 45, and Robert Noel, 59, were charged with involuntary
manslaughter and keeping a mischievous dog that killed a human being.
Knoller was also charged with second-degree murder.
The couple was arrested at a house in Corning, about 170 miles
northeast of San Francisco. The couple had left San Francisco after
testifying before a grand jury Tuesday afternoon.
District Attorney Terence Hallinan said police had tailed the pair until a
judge handed down a warrant. Authorities then closed in to make the
arrest. Hallinan declined to say if they couple was fleeing.
Knoller and Noel were caring for the two Presa Canario-mastiffs when
the dogs - a 120-pound male named Bane and a 113-pound female
named Hera - mauled St. Mary's College lacrosse coach Diane Whipple,
33, on Jan. 26. The lawyers lived next door to Whipple, who - at 110
pounds - was outweighed by both dogs.
Bane was destroyed after the mauling, and Hera will be put down,
authorities said.
The animals have been linked to a dogfighting ring run out of Pelican Bay
State Prison by inmates Paul Schneider and Dale Bretches. They were
raised to fight other dogs and guard illegal drug labs, prison officials
said.
Schneider and Bretches are serving life sentences without parole:
Schneider for robbery and attempted murder, and Bretches for murder
and assault with a deadly weapon while behind bars. Both belong to the
Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist prison gang.
In one of the case's many strange twists, Noel and Knoller adopted
Schneider as their son in a procedure that became official just three days
after Whipple's death.
Noel had sent a letter to prosecutors suggesting Whipple should have
gone inside her apartment to avoid the attack. He also accused Whipple
of striking his wife as Knoller tried to pull the dogs away.
During the grand jury hearing Tuesday, paramedics were called to assist
Knoller after she suffered an anxiety attack while testifying.
Soon after, a San Francisco police officer in an unmarked car followed the
couple as they drove north from the city. The officer called the California
Highway Patrol to report that they were driving erratically.
A patrol officer stopped the car and ticketed Noel for allegedly driving
more than 85 mph in a 65 mph zone. The couple continued driving away
from San Francisco and were arrested a few hours later in Corning.
Knoller complained of chest pains at the time of her arrest. She was
treated at a local hospital and released before being transported to jail.
Knoller was being held in lieu of $2 million bail; Noel was being held on
$1 million bail.
Tehama County sheriff's Deputy Chris Smith said late Tuesday the
couple was arranging to make bail.
The second-degree murder charge carries a possible sentence of 15
years to life in prison, Hallinan said.
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