Dog Owners Indicted

By Stephen M. Silverman

04/21/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

In a case that that has horrified the nation, San Francisco lawyers Marjorie Knoller and Robert Noel, who were caring for two dogs that mauled a woman to death, were indicted by a grand jury Tuesday night on charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, reports NBC News. News reports note that the couple was caring for two rare Presa Canario dogs in their apartment on behalf of a 38-year-old prisoner whom they had adopted as their son, when one of the dogs attacked and killed their neighbor, Diane Whipple, 33, in their apartment building hallway. (The dog has since been destroyed.) Knoller, 45, and Noel, 59, denied knowing that the animals had a history of aggression. But authorities said that the dogs were raised as part of a dog-fighting ring operating in Pelican Bay State Prison by the inmates Paul Schneider and Dale Bretches, members of a white supremacist group. Schneider is serving a life sentence without parole for robbery and attempted murder. NBC News reported on Wednesday that police caught Knoller and Noel speeding outside of San Francisco. Authorities declined comment on whether or not they were seeking flight.