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Defense rests in dog mauling case

Knoller

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The defense in a widely publicized dog mauling trial rested its case Wednesday soon after one of the dog owners testified that she had no idea before the attack that her "loving" pet was dangerous.

Marjorie Knoller wept as she told the court that no one had ever complained to her about Bane, the 120-pound Presa Canario, before he attacked and killed Diane Whipple in the hallway of their apartment building.

"I saw this pet, this dog that had been loving, docile and friendly and good with people turn into a crazed wild animal," Knoller said bursting into tears. "How could he turn into what he did in that hallway, how could he do what he did?"

The jury heard from two other witnesses before the defense rested, catching the court off guard because the defense earlier had signaled it would call three more witnesses. Prosecutors plan to call two rebuttal witnesses before resting.

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Knoller is on trial on charges of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and keeping a mischievous animal that killed a human being. Whipple, 33, was mauled to death while bringing groceries back to her San Francisco apartment.

Knoller's husband, Robert Noel, is on trial for the last two charges. He wasn't charged with murder because he was not at the scene when the attack by Bane occurred on Jan. 26, 2001.

Their trial was moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles because of the extensive publicity the case received in the Bay Area.

On redirect questioning by her attorney, Nedra Ruiz, Knoller disputed the testimony of two witnesses who said Bane was aggressive towards them.

She denied Bane bit one witness on the rear as he got on an elevator, saying the elevator door had closed on him.

Another witness testified that Bane lunged at her, but Knoller said she was out of town with her husband and the dogs at the time that supposedly occurred. She showed a hotel receipt to back up her claim.

Whipple

Earlier, under cross-examination, prosecutor Jim Hammer grilled Knoller, asking her why she gave her husband varying accounts of what happened the day of the killing.

"I was trying to figure out what happened in that hallway," Knoller responded.

Under cross-examination, Hammer, who accused Knoller of giving conflicting testimony before a grand jury, tried to get her to admit Bane was dangerous, and that she hadn't put her hand in the dog's mouth to interrupt the attack, as she had testified previously.

Knoller repeatedly said she couldn't remember what she had told the grand jury, and that she was suffering from memory loss since the death because she was so traumatized.

Throughout her testimony, she made frequent eye contact with jurors.

"You knew Bane was more dangerous than a Chihuahua?" Hammer asked.

"Maybe," Knoller responded.

When asked by Hammer where the dogs' muzzles were that day, when she took Bane outside, Knoller replied, "In the house."

When asked whether she chose not to put one on Bane, she responded, "Yes."

Bane and Knoller's and Noel's other Presa Canario, Hera, were destroyed after the attack. Hammer pointed out that Knoller fought the order to destroy Hera all the way to California Supreme Court.

Under redirect, Knoller said Ruiz wanted her to save the dog because she thought it would help her case if the jury saw the dog was not vicious.

Prosecutors contend Knoller and Noel knew their two dogs were dangerous. They also allege that Knoller didn't try to stop the attack and didn't come to Whipple's assistance as the college lacrosse coach lay dying in the hallway of the apartment building.

Knoller testified Tuesday that she tried to stem Whipple's bleeding, but stopped because she believed she needed to get Bane away from the wounded woman.

"I was holding on for dear life to make sure he didn't go back to doing what he was doing," Knoller said.