Posted on 03/20/2002 3:17:07 PM PST by socal_parrot
By LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jurors deliberating in the San Francisco dog mauling trial sent word Wednesday that they reached verdicts on four of the five charges and wanted to adjourn until Thursday to consider the last count.
The judge ordered an immediate hearing on the request and the defendants were brought to court.
The request came late on the second day of deliberations, after the panel had listened to a reading of testimony, including sections of one defendant's testimony to the grand jury that issued indictments in the case.
Behind closed doors, a court reporter read sections of Noel's testimony before a grand jury about the dogs and an incident in which the animals allegedly lunged at a neighbor.
The segments were brief and mainly involved Noel answering "no" to questions about whether he considered the animals aggressive. Noel did not testify during the five-week trial.
Noel, 60, and his wife, Marjorie Knoller, 46, are charged in the death of neighbor Diane Whipple, 33, who was fatally mauled on Jan. 26, 2001, outside her apartment by at least one of the couple's dogs.
Knoller is charged with second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and keeping a mischievous dog that killed a person. She faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Noel, who wasn't home at the time of the attack, faces only the latter two charges. He faces up to four years if he is convicted.
The jury also asked to hear Noel's testimony about an incident in which neighbor Skip Cooley and his wife were allegedly the subject of a scary confrontation in the building.
Cooley, who lived next door to the defendants, testified that one of the dogs once lunged at him as he got out of an elevator. Noel discussed the incident during grand jury hearings.
Cooley said the dogs were normally docile toward him. But he said they became "attentive" toward his 5-foot-tall wife, who weighed less than the animals.
Cooley said the dogs appeared to go "on alert" when his wife was present. Her description is similar to that of Whipple.
Me thinks it's too early to say that about the jurors!
Boy, would Freud ever have a field day with this.
Especially since there were reports that the defendants had sex with their dogs.
These people keeping a pair of attack dogs in an apartment? Hang 'em
Regards,
Picture this. You pay $5000 a month to rent a "posh" apartment in Sodom Francisco. Some of your neighbors are lesbians and don't like men or dogs. Your other neighbors are lawyers that raise sexually abused killer dogs for a hobby. They also have relationships with prison gang members, and enjoy cheating, beastility, and illegal drugs among other things. Don't bitch about it to your homosexual landlord, he might raise the rent again.
The female prosecutor used to model underwear.
I hope the two are found guilty. But isn't this the town where OJ was found not guilty?
A gun requires a person to pull the trigger. A dog has a mind of its own, especially if it is vicious. That dog was far worse than a loaded gun, and evidence indicates that Knoller & Noel were aware of this. I hope these degenerates get every day in prison allowed under the law.
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