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Grand Jury To Hear Dog-Mauling CaseEvidence Against San Francisco Attorneys To Be HeardSAN FRANCISCO, 2:03 p.m. EST March 9, 2001 -- A newspaper report says that a grand jury will meet Friday to hear evidence against two San Francisco attorneys whose dogs killed a woman in the hallway outside her apartment.
The San Francisco Chronicle says that Marjorie Knoller and Robert Noel are the subjects of the grand jury proceeding. Lacrosse coach Diane Whipple (pictured, below) was slain by a 120-pound Presa Canario dog named Bane in late January.
Knoller and Noel also are expected at a hearing Friday to discuss material seized from their office and from the cells of two Pelican Bay prison inmates who once owned Bane and a second Presa Canario dog named Hera. Four boxes of evidence seized from the cells of inmates Paul "Cornfed" Schneider and Dale Bretches are to be given to prosecutors. Among those subpoenaed are several witnesses who have told of run-ins with Bane and Hera. Those witnesses could be used to support a felony charge by showing that the couple knew the dogs were vicious but failed to control them. Noel and Knoller say that they are innocent. They claim that Whipple left her apartment after reaching safety to go after Knoller. A key witness is Sharon Smith, Whipple's longtime partner. She told police that Whipple was afraid of Bane after an attack two weeks before she died.
Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
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The couple have offered to testify, but it is not clear if they have been summoned by the 19-member panel.