dictionary

Dog mauling case 'up to the jury and God'

Prosecutor Jim Hammer delivers an emotionally charged rebuttal.

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- After weeks of often graphic and emotional testimony, the case of a San Francisco couple whose dog mauled a neighbor to death in the hallway of their apartment building is in the hands of a Los Angeles jury.

Jury deliberations began Tuesday morning and continued through the afternoon before pausing for the night. The jurors will reconvene Wednesday morning.

Before the judge charged the jury, prosecutor Jim Hammer took about an hour Tuesday to present his rebuttal argument. He told jurors that Marjorie Knoller and her husband, Robert Noel, could not control their two 100-plus-pound Presa Canaria dogs and knew they were dangerous.

Knoller is charged with second-degree murder in the attack by Bane, the larger of the two dogs, on Diane Whipple.

Knoller and Noel, who was not present during the attack, are both charged with involuntary manslaughter and keeping a mischievous animal that killed a human being. Prosecutors contend they ignored signs that the dogs were dangerous and failed to take proper steps to control them.

Charges jurors are deliberating Marjorie Knoller Murder in the second degree Involuntary manslaughter Owner of a mischievous animal that kills Robert Noel Involuntary manslaughter Owner of a mischievous animal that kills VIDEO CNN's Thelma Gutierrez recaps the trial of the owners of a dog that mauled Diane Whipple to death (March 18) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     LEGAL RESOURCES Latest Legal News Law Library FindLaw Consumer Center Select a topic Bankruptcy Discrimination Divorce Estate Planning Landlord-Tenant Personal Injury Taxes

Knoller could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted on all charges. Noel could be sentenced to four years if convicted.

Jurors reminded of victim's final moments

Whipple, 33, was bringing groceries into her apartment when Bane attacked. The other dog, Hera, also came into the hallway during the attack, but it was unclear whether she took part. Both dogs were destroyed.

Whipple's partner, Sharon Smith, and her mother, Penny Whipple, were in court Tuesday and burst into tears as Hammer emotionally described the moments before her death.

"She was alone, unable to even talk. and a dog was still running lose with her, and she tried to breathe again, her voice closed in again on her, the two holes in her larynx, and she crawled and she tried to push herself up, and she crawled some more to try to get home, and no one was there, no one," Hammer said.

"That's what these people's recklessness did, caused that kind of death."

Knoller's attorney, Nedra Ruiz, stood up to object several times during Hammer's rebuttal and was chastised by the judge, who threatened to have her removed from the courtroom.

Outside the courtroom, Smith said she was happy with the way the prosecution presented the case.

"At this point, it's up to the jury and God," she said.

Prosecuted because of relationship with convicts

In their closing arguments Monday, attorneys for Knoller and Noel called Whipple's death a "tragic accident" and said the couple had no way to know that their family pets would attack.

"We'll never know what made Bane go berserk," Ruiz said. "We'll never know what crazed him to make him focus his aggression on poor Diane."

Ruiz said Knoller repeatedly hit Bane on the muzzle to try to get him off of Whipple and was so close that a torn piece of her shirt and bags she used to pick up his waste were found among Whipple's shredded clothes.

Ruiz held up the bag of clothes and asked the jury why the prosecution did not point that out.

Knoller, left, and Ruiz listen Tuesday as the judge warns Ruiz not to interrupt the rebuttal with another objection.

"What is the prosecution's excuse for keeping this evidence from you?" Ruiz asked. "Maybe he wants to curry favor with the homosexual and gay folks who are picketing ... and demanding justice for Diane Whipple."

The defense said no one ever complained about the dogs or went to the police.

Ruiz said Smith made up testimony that one of the dogs bit Whipple prior to the attack.

"Sharon Smith has every right to sue for the wrongful death of her girlfriend, but she has no right to come here with false testimony and attempt to frame Marjorie Knoller for murder," Ruiz said.

The defense said prosecutors went forward with charges against the Knoller and Noel because of their relationships with a group of prison inmates, including one the couple adopted.

During his closing argument Monday, Hammer called the dogs "beasts" and "monsters," who ripped Whipple to death.

"These dogs were more dangerous than a loaded gun. I've called them a time bomb, because at least with a gun you have to pull the trigger but these dogs would go off on their own over and over and over again," he said.

Hammer said Knoller and Noel ignored more than 30 complaints about the dogs, including one from Whipple two weeks before her death.

Prosecutors said the couple was running a kennel called Dog-O-War with the inmates and planned to sell the animals as protection dogs. Hammer said Presa Canarias were bred to hunt and kill pit bulls.

"These prisoners didn't choose poodles," Hammer said. "They wanted tough, aggressive dogs, and they picked the best dog they could find, a dog which you heard evidence of is meaner than a pit bull."

Diane Whipple

Hammer also ridiculed Knoller's testimony that she was bitten by Bane when she tried to help Whipple.

"My mother gets worse wounds gardening," he said. "Compare those to what happened to Diane Whipple."

Hammer said that even if Knoller did try to stop the attack, she still committed a crime.

"By the time she committed that intentional act of going in the hallway with two dogs, or if you believe her on anything, one dog with no muzzle, and no restraint, with this dog, knowing what it could do, the crime was complete," Hammer said.