Dog Owner Says He Shouldn’t Be Charged in Attack
On the morning after a memorial service to honor a 33-year-old woman who died in a dog attack, the dog’s owner said Friday that he should not be held criminally responsible.
“My examination of the facts indicates there would be no basis for criminal charges,” Robert Noel, a San Francisco tax lawyer, said during a news conference outside the Pelican Bay State Prison near the California-Oregon border.
Diane Whipple was fatally attacked Jan. 26 by Noel’s 120-pound mastiff-Canary Island crossbreed. Noel and his wife, Marjorie Knoller, owned that dog and another involved in the attack, and have not been charged with any crimes.
The crossbreed was killed after the attack. The other animal, which Noel says did not participate in the attack, remained at the city’s animal shelter Friday. Its fate will be decided at a Feb. 13 hearing.
San Francisco Dist. Atty. Terence Hallinan has said Noel, 59, and Knoller, 45, could face manslaughter charges in Whipple’s death.
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