Killer Dogs Bit Others, Court Documents Say

Two lawyers charged in the death of a neighbor who was mauled by their dogs had struggled in the past to control their large pets, according to investigation documents unsealed Thursday.

Marjorie Knoller and Robert Noel have long said the dogs were gentle. But many of the newly released reports say the couple barely could control the two dogs named Bane and Hera.

Previous incidents allegedly included two attacks on a blind woman and her guide dog. Another dog nearly died after being bitten. The dead woman, Diane Whipple, had talked of being bitten once before. And even Noel nearly lost a finger trying to restrain the male dog, Bane.

Attorney George Walker, who is representing the couple, said he has not seen the evidence released to the media and refused to comment on it.

“I assume that what’s going to happen is the prosecutor will present that material at trial,” he said.

Other descriptions of evidence unsealed Thursday suggest that the couple had ample knowledge that the dogs were dangerous before they attacked and killed 33-year-old Whipple on Jan. 26 in the hallway of their apartment building.

Correspondence between the couple and their clients--inmates at the maximum security Pelican Bay State Prison--allegedly shows that two inmates were selling the lawyers’ services as part of a business of training fighting dogs for people behind bars, investigators said.

The couple’s apartment was searched, as well as the cell of the inmates: Paul Schneider and Dale Bretches, both members of the racist Aryan Brotherhood who are serving life without parole.

Sgt. Joe Akin, a prison guard, said he discovered letters indicating that the dogs bit a blind woman and her dog on two occasions, according to an affidavit supporting an additional search of the cell.

Both Noel and Knoller were indicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter and keeping a mischievous dog that killed a human being. Knoller--who failed to control Bane and Hera during the attack on Whipple--also faces a second-degree murder charge, punishable by 15 years to life.

The two were to be arraigned Thursday, but the proceedings were postponed for two weeks to give their attorney time to review the case.

The copies of witness statements, police affidavits and lists of evidence seized in the searches were released under media pressure more than a month after the searches took place.

Such information is subject to the public records law, and generally can’t be sealed unless a judge gives the public prior notice and an opportunity to object.

The Associated Press, the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Jose Mercury News had asked the judge to make public the search warrants and prosecutors’ theories supporting the searches.

“Important documents relating to this investigation were finally released to the public,” said Rachel Boehm, the media’s lawyer. “It’s unfortunate we had to wait this long, however, because those documents should have been released to the public as soon as they were filed with the court.”

Boehm said Superior Court Judge Lenard Louie improperly sealed the documents in mid-February without first giving notice to the public.