Convictions On Lesser Charges Stand
Kim Curtis, Associated Press Writer
SAN FRANCISCO -- Judge James Warren today sentenced defendant Robert Noel to the maximum term of four years in prison for manslaughter, saying he showed “an utter lack of remorse” for the fatal dog mauling of Diane Whipple.
The judge said the maximum term was justified because Noel committed perjury by testifying before the grand jury that he never saw his dog Bane lunge at anyone or act aggressively, despite the testimony of several witnesses the dog had done so.
Sentencing for the other defendant, Marjorie Knoller, was reset for July 15 after the judge threw out the murder conviction against her, leaving a manslaughter charge.
A judge threw out a second-degree murder conviction Monday against Marjorie Knoller in the 2001 dog mauling that killed a neighbor, but let stand involuntary manslaughter convictions against Knoller and her husband, Robert Noel.
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.
Knoller and Noel were arrested after their two huge presa canario dogs pounced on 33-year-old college lacrosse coach Diane Whipple outside her San Francisco apartment door on Jan. 26, 2001, as she carried groceries home.
Knoller, who was with the dogs at the time of the attack, was convicted in March of second-degree murder. She also was found guilty, along with her husband, of manslaughter and having a mischievous dog that killed someone.
Knoller, 46, could have faced 15 years to life in prison on the murder conviction. She and Noel, 60, now face up to four years on the other convictions.
Sentencing for Knoller and Noel on the involuntary manslaughter convictions was set for Monday afternoon.
San Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallinan said he was unsure whether to retry Knoller on the second-degree murder charge.
“I was surprised. I thought this went beyond manslaughter. This was a second-degree murder case. We’ll try to get the maximum we can on the sentences that are left and then decide,” he said.
“They should have let that murder count stand.”
Sharon Smith, Whipple’s domestic partner, shed a tear as Warren read his ruling.
“This is a big shock for Sharon Smith that she didn’t deserve on top of everything else,” Hallinan said.
Warren threw out the murder conviction despite saying he did not believe much of Knoller’s testimony, and that both Knoller and Noel acted terribly in the days following the attack. He said they 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.
Knoller and Noel, both lawyers, went on the offensive almost immediately after the attack, granting numerous interviews. They hired and fired lawyers, who warned them their public comments were hurting their case.
In court papers, Knoller’s attorneys 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.
During the trial, Ruiz’s courtroom theatrics included shouting, kicking the jury box and waving her arms. She got down on all fours to re-enact what she described as Knoller’s attempts to protect Whipple.