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American Morning

Dog Mauling Trial To Be in Jury's Hands Soon

Aired March 19, 2002 - 09:11   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, to Los Angeles now, where the fate of two defendants in the so-called "dog-mauling trial" could be in the hands of the jury by day's end. In court yesterday, lawyers for both sides made final, passionate pleas to jurors.

Thelma Gutierrez has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Emotions ran high during closing arguments in the dog mauling trial.

JIM HAMMER, PROSECUTOR: Do not let them get away with their lies. Don't let Marjorie Knoller get away with murder.

GUTIERREZ: Prosecutor Jim Hammer says Marjorie Knoller did little to save Diane Whipple's life and even contributed to her death.

HAMMER: By the time she committed that intentional act of going into the hallway with two dogs, if you believe her on anything, one dog with no muzzle and no restraint, with this dog, knowing what it would do, the crime was complete.

GUTIERREZ: Hammer reminded jurors there were more than 30 separate incidents leading up to Whipple's death in which the dogs showed aggression, warning signs he says Knoller and Noel ignored.

HAMMER: When she left that house, she knew 100 percent certain that if there were a problem with those dogs, his wife couldn't control them. She couldn't even control one.

GUTIERREZ: The couple is charged with involuntary manslaughter and keeping a mischievous animal that killed. Knoller is also accused of second degree murder.

HAMMER: These dogs are time bombs. There were the earlier explosions. This time it killed a woman.

GUTIERREZ: But the defense says not true. No one ever complained about the dogs, that they were merely pets who went berserk.

BRUCE HOTCHKISS, ATTORNEY FOR ROBERT NOEL: Diane Whipple was killed in the hallway of her building by a family pet. The absolutely unthinkable happened and everybody is saying "my God, how could that happen."

GUTIERREZ: Both defense attorneys argue the D.A. vilified the couple because they needed someone to blame, so they turned to Robert Noel because of his association with prison inmates, one of whom the couple adopted.

HOTCHKISS: He wrote letters that are offensive to many people, and he had an interaction with a prisoner that is offensive to many people.

GUTIERREZ: Bruce Hotchkiss reminded jurors that that alone is not a crime. Nedra Ruiz even suggested the D.A. buckled under public pressure in San Francisco to prosecute someone for Whipple's death.

NEDRA RUIZ, ATTORNEY FOR MARJORIE KNOLLER: Maybe he wants to carry favor with the homosexual and gay folks who were picketing at 2398 Pacific.

GUTIERREZ: The very place where Diane Whipple was savagely mauled to death on January 26th, 2001.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The "Big Question" at this hour, did the owners know their dogs could kill? Joining us this morning is reporter Jaxon Van Derbeken, who has been covering the trial for the "San Francisco Chronicle," and he's in Los Angeles now. Thanks for joining us this morning, Jaxon.

JAXON VAN DERBEKEN, "SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE": Good morning.

WHITFIELD: Well, no doubt about it, the dogs killed. But the jurors now have to decide if the owners knew that these dogs were, as the prosecutor put it, time bombs. You were able to kind of see in the courtroom, see the jurors' reaction. In any way, are you able to get a good read as to how the jurors might be seeing things here? Do they think -- think that the owners were responsible for their dogs' actions?

VAN DERBEKEN: Well, reading a jury is -- I don't know, akin to reading tea leaves, but I think that there's some signs that the jury has listened intently to all of this evidence and perhaps may have been exhausted by some of it. It's gone over several weeks.

There have been, you know, scores of witnesses, and they seem, in some sense, to cancel one another out in the sense that there are what they call "good dog witnesses" and "bad dog witnesses." The bad dog witnesses suggest that these dogs lunged, were aggressive, bit at least one if not -- at least two people, whereas the good dog witnesses were the witnesses provided by the defense which suggested that the dogs were docile, peaceable, loving creatures who never harmed anyone and could be taken into people's homes, and could be taken to restaurants, cafes, bars, the whole nine yards. And so, we wonder whether the jury just looks at both sides and says they kind of cancel each other out.

On the other hand, the prosecutors say that one incident, one lung, one bark, one growl in the sense of aggressive act is enough to cancel out all the good dog witnesses, so we will see. But the jury seems to be, you know, to some extent, I think that -- it's somewhat evident that the long defense case and the long argument perhaps may have tired them. But that's about the only thing we can really tell. They've been pretty stoic throughout.

WHITFIELD: And in addition to the witnesses, the jurors had to also take a pretty close look at some very graphic evidence, including photographs. So graphic that Diane Whipple's partner had to leave the room. It just was unbearable to see this. And the prosecutor, Prosecutor Hammer, really did sort of, you know nail the point home that this is a brutal killing. Let's hear what he had to say during closing arguments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: These are the wounds she ends up with. This little cut -- from those teeth supposedly, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) mouth, and this cut on her thumb which might have taken stitches, but didn't require them. My mother gets worse wounds gardening. Compare those to what happened to Diane Whipple.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Jaxon, the prosecutors obviously hitting home there with the facts of the case, but at the same time, really getting to the emotion of it all, too.

VAN DERBEKEN: Yeah, they did hit an emotional point, but the defense also attempted to play on the, you know, early in their case, and throughout Marjorie's testimony, she was quite emotional. She was tearful as many people saw, at least or heard about. In the courtroom, she was crying and Nedra Ruiz started out emotional. So both sides have been very emotional in this case, and with these kind of graphic photos, showing this victim who was just horribly attacked, there is no way anyone is going to ignore that.

WHITFIELD: And in fact -- you bring up that Marjorie herself was very emotional and her attorney, Nedra Ruiz, she was putting on quite a performance there, sometimes, some might say, a little bit too theatrical, she herself even crying, and I have a quote that I would like to recall during her closing, she was really trying to appeal to the jurors, saying, wondering, if the prosecutors were kind of turning things around.

"What is the prosecution's excuse for keeping this evidence from you? Maybe he wants to curry favor with the homosexual and gay folks who are picketing... and demanding justice for Diane Whipple."

Were you able to get a sense as to what the expressions might have been from the jurors? How did it sit with them do hear something like that? VAN DERBEKEN: Well, I mean, it's -- it's an interesting point. We're here in Los Angeles. The trial was moved here because of publicity, so I doubt that this had quite the same effect that it would have had in San Francisco, where -- you know, but still there's a sizable gay community here, and you know, there's no question that that kind of argument is a very risky proposition.

So, we'll see, but there was no visible -- unlike earlier, something had happened in court which caused gasps, at least in the audience, when she went on the attack against the Diane Whipple's partner, Sharon Smith. There wasn't anything like that, but on the other hand it was clear that such a argument may have had some sway with the jury one way or another.

WHITFIELD: Jaxon Van Derbeken, thanks very much, from the "San Francisco Chronicle," joining us this morning. Of course, always difficult to read the jurors, but we will be finding out perhaps soon exactly how they might be leaning on this case as the jurors soon are handed the case. Thanks very much.

VAN DERBEKEN: Thank you.

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