Lawyers Jailed for Fatal Dog Attack

The owners of two dogs which mauled a woman to death in San Francisco last year were convicted yesterday of killing her: the first time dog owners had been convicted of murder because of the action of their animals.

Margaret Knoller is liable to a jail sentence of 15 years for murdering her neighbour Diane Whipple. She was also convicted of manslaughter and owning a mischievous animal that killed. Her husband, Robert Noel, was convicted of the latter two offences and may be jailed for four years.

Knoller broke down as the jury's verdict was delivered.

The defendants, both lawyers and both associated with the Aryan Brotherhood, were mining the two Presa Canario dogs for their adopted son, who was in prison.

The prosecution argued that the dogs, which have both been put down, were "time bombs" and more dangerous than loaded guns. More than 30 people testified that the dogs had lunged or growled at them. One man was bitten.

Whipple, 33, a lacrosse coach, died after being mauled by the dogs as she tried to enter her flat in Pacific Heights, San Francisco's richest district, in January last year. One of the dogs, Bane, tore her throat out while the other, Hera, ripped her clothes.

Knoller claimed that she tried to save Whipple's life and had been hurt doing so, a claim mocked in his closing speech by the prosecutor, James Hammer, who said of Knoller's injuries: "My mother gets worse wounds gardening. Compare those with what happened to Diane Whipple."

The jury included 10 dog owners. The trial was held in Los Angeles because of the publicity surrounding the incident in San Francisco.

The case has ramifications far beyond the charges, in the worlds of both sexual and racial politics.

Whipple's partner, Sharon Smith, a senior executive of the brokers Charles Schwab, has successfully campaigned for new state laws allowing same-sex partners to sue for wrongful death. Previously that right was reserved for spouses, parents and children of a dead person.

The trial also focused attention on the widespread existence of neo-Nazi groups in prisons.

Another result of the case is that the Presa Canario has become a fashionable breed. It is now challenging the Rottweiler as the favourite macho dog, and proving a big concern to police.

The trial was marked by the histrionics of Knoller's lawyer, Nedra Ruiz. During her opening address to the jury of seven men and five women she wept and threw herself to the floor to demonstrate how the attack had happened.