Dog sexually assaulted - San Francisco, CA

Sunday, Dec 31, 2000

County: San Francisco

Disposition: Not Charged

Persons of Interest:
» Marjorie Knoller
» Robert Noel

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

Prosecutors in California reportedly are investigating whether two lawyers, charged in an unusual murder, sexually abused the dogs which killed their neighbor. The story came out only days after controversial Princeton University bioethicist and euthanasia advocate Peter Singer caused a stir with an Internet magazine article suggesting a rethinking of the taboo on sex between man and beast.

Majorie Knoller and Robert Noel are charged in connection with the dog-mauling death of their neighbor. Prosecutors allege they let their new-breed mastiffs loose to pounce on 98-pound Diane Whipple and bite her to death.

The dogs are of a new breed, the Presa Canario, that combines the bone-breaking bite of a pit bull with the bigger frame of a mastiff. In court papers filed in San Francisco, Knoller and Noel are said to be under investigation for having sex with the dogs.

An affidavit from a guard at the prison holding the lawyers' adoptive son said officers seized legal mail that discusses "sexual activity between Noel, Knoller and the dog Bane," which was exterminated soon after its leading role in the slaying of Whipple. The prison guard also reported that he "discovered communications between Noel and Knoller and (the imprisoned son) that described sexual activities ... and included photos and drawings of dogs."

Case Updates

Owner of killer dog to be released By Kim Curtis Associated Press San Jose (California) Mercury News, Local News, page 3B September 11, 2003 The man reviled for blaming dog mauling victim Diane Whipple for her own death is expected to be released from prison Friday after serving little more than half his four-year sentence, but he won't be returning to San Francisco. Robert Noel, whose behavior was called "despicable'' by the judge who sentenced him to prison, had been sentenced to four years for involuntary manslaughter in the 2001 death of neighbor Whipple. He and his wife, Marjorie Knoller, were convicted in March 2002. Whipple, 33, was attacked in the hallway of their apartment building by the couple's two mammoth Presa Canarios. Noel suggested Whipple brought the attack on herself by taking steroids or wearing perfume that attracted the dogs. Knoller said Whipple could have avoided injury simply by shutting her apartment door. The trial judge was outraged by the couple's behavior. "Their conduct from the time they got the dogs to the weeks after Diane Whipple's death was despicable," Superior Court Judge James Warren said, calling the dogs "a canine time bomb that would, at some inevitable time, explode with disastrous consequences". Knoller, 48, has refused to work during her incarceration at Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla, and won't be released until early March, the San Francisco District Attorney's ofice said Wednesday. Knoller originally was convicted of second-degree murder but that conviction was tossed out by a judge. She also received a four-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter. Noel, 62, who served most of his sentence in Oregon because of his past experience as a lawyer representing inmates and prison guards in California, was transferred last week to High Desert State Prison in Susanville. He's been separated from the general population at his own request, according to Margot Bach, spokeswoman for the State Corrections Department. While prisoners are typically released to the county in which they committed their crimes, Noel will not be returned to San Francisco and instead will be sent to Solano County, Bach said. Noel will also be considered a high-control parolee, which means he will need to check in with his parole officer at least four times each month, Bach said. He will be on parole at least three years. Michael Cardoza, who represents Sharon Smith, Whipple's former partner, said Smith is shocked that Noel's release is imminent. "She certainly feels that its not commensurate with the crime that was committed," Cardoza said. Smith is about to give birth to her first child. She and her new partner have left San Francisco but still live in the Bay Area, Cardoza said. Wrongful-death suits filed by Smith and by Whipple's mother against the owners and managers of Whipple's apartment building were settled in December 2002 for an undisclosed sum. Smith's suit cleared a legal hurdle when a San Francisco judge allowed it to proceed, despite the fact that Whipple and Smith were not married. Under state law, same-sex couples cannot marry. style="background-color: #F0F0F0">Update posted on Sep 11, 2003 - 2:41PM

Knoller was found guilty of causing the death of Diane Whipple by not being in control of a (known) vicious dog. She was sentenced to 4 years in jail. She will be eligible for parole next year.

Update posted on Jul 24, 2003 - 6:45PM

References

• - Feb 5, 2002

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