Gasps and tears from Marjorie Knoller as she is convicted of second-degree murder in the fatal dog mauling of her neighbor.
She and her husband, Robert Noel, are also convicted of involuntary manslaughter and having a mischievous dog that killed someone.
Noel showed no reaction as the verdicts in the death of Diane Whipple were read.
Knoller faces 15 years to life in prison on the murder count. Noel faces up to four years.
The case centered on how responsible the couple was for their animals. Murder charges are rare in dog mauling cases, but prosecutors say the couple knew their two huge dogs were “time bombs.´´ The prosecution put more than 30 witnesses on the stand who said they´d been terrorized by the dogs.
The two are scheduled to be sentenced in San Francisco on May tenth.
This post was last modified on 01/31/2009 5:29 pm