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American Morning

Defense in Dog Mauling Murder Trial About to Begin Case

Aired March 05, 2002 - 08:43   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Now we move out to California where the defense in the dog mauling murder trial is about to begin its case. Yesterday, the prosecution rested, leaving the jury with graphic descriptions of the bite marks on the victim of a fatal dog attack.

Here is Ann Mcdermott's report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANN MCDERMOTT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two dozen autopsy photos of Diane Whipple were shown in court Monday, photos so gruesome that several people including some journalists, had to leave the courtroom.

Whipple was killed in the hallway of her San Francisco apartment building by one, or maybe both, of these dogs. The San Francisco medical examiner testified that the dogs left Whipple bitten and bleeding in so many places that the only parts of her not injured were the top of her head and the soles of her feet.

DR. BOYD STEPHENS, SAN FRANCISCO MEDICAL EXAMINER: With her larynx broken or crushed, every time that she tried to breathe, her lungs, or her airway would collapse.

MCDERMOTT: On trial here are the dog's owners Robert Noel and Marjorie Knoller, husband and wife, both charged with involuntary manslaughter, and Knoller, who was with the dogs in the hallway during the attack, is also charged with second-degree murder. Her attorney has said again and again that the attack was an accident, that Marjorie Knoller actually tried to protect the victim, and outside the courtroom she seemed to blame the police for not giving Whipple first aid quickly enough.

NEDRA RUIZ, KNOLLER'S ATTORNEY: Both police officers were standing in a stairwell 10 feet away watching Diane Whipple bleed to death!

MCDERMOTT: But the medical examiner testified it was probably already too late for Whipple -- she'd lost that much blood.

Now that the prosecution has rested, the defendants are expected to take the stand to tell their side of the story in the death of Diane Whipple.

Ann McDermott, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: "Newsweek" correspondent Anna Figueroa has been covering the trial. She was in the courtroom yesterday. She joins us this morning from Los Angeles.

Thank you very much for being with us.

ANNA FIGUEROA, "NEWSWEEK": Thanks.

ZAHN: So, Anna, we just heard Ann's description of what the jury saw yesterday, very graphic pictures showing the 77 or so wounds that Miss Whipple suffered. What was the reaction of the courtroom to these pictures?

FIGUEROA: Well, I think the judge did his part by warning people about what they were going to see. It was quite gruesome to see these autopsy photos projected on a movie screen in front of people. So obviously, the relatives of the victim left the courtroom. Many of the friends of the victim sitting in the front row also left, as well as friends of the victim's domestic partner, Sharon Smith.

ZAHN: You say the judge obviously warned people these photos were coming. What was the reaction at the defense table?

FIGUEROA: You know, that was interesting, Paula. The defendant Marjorie Knoller, we can only see her from the back, but she seemed to be quite upset. At one point, it looked like she was crying. She kept her head bowed the whole time, and her counsel, Nedra Ruiz, was actually comforting her. I saw her trying to rub her back and putting her arm around her, so it clearly shook up Knoller, and the co- defendant, Noel, didn't seem to have any particular response at all.

ZAHN: And in this piece that preceded our interview, we saw Dr. Boyd Stevens essentially saying that Miss Whipple died from loss of blood and asphyxiation. Was -- and a crushed larynx, similar to what one would suffer if a wild animal attacked its prey. Was the prosecution trying to make this case that the owners knew they had a very dangerous animal on their hands?

FIGUEROA: Well, I think that's part of it, Paula. I mean, clearly, it was very shocking to be in courtroom and hear the medical examiner compare these dogs to vicious beasts in the wild. He said, you know, a lion will attack its prey by choking them, by going for the throat, and that's what that these dogs did. They went for her throat. They literally ripped her throat out. That crushed her larynx and her trachea. And one of the most gruesome photos that we saw was of Ms. Whipple's larynx on the screen, and you could see it crushed.

ZAHN: And in one of the more controversial moments yesterday, it appeared as though the defense attorney was trying to say that in some way Miss Whipple's partner was responsible for Miss Whipple's death because she hadn't filed a complaint in the past. What was that all about? FIGUEROA: Well, that I think was just one of many situations where the defense attorney, Nedra Ruiz, has sort of raised eyebrows. She did accuse, Sharon Smith, the domestic partner, of perhaps not doing all she could to prevent Ms. Whipple's death, because Whipple had allegedly been bitten by these dogs before, and so Ruiz said to Sharon Smith, who was on the stand last week, well, you knew she was bitten before, why didn't you complained? If you had complained, perhaps you could have prevented these dogs from killing Ms. Whipple. So clearly, that shocked a lot of people, and it visibly upset obviously Ms. Smith.

ZAHN: Anna, thank you so much for your insights this morning. As we mentioned at the top of this, the defense gets started with its case later today, and we look forward to having you back to bring us up to date on what's happening.

FIGUEROA: Thanks, Paula.

ZAHN: Thank you, Anna. Good luck in the courtroom today.

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