Kinky Lawyer Gets 15-to-Life in Horrific Dog Maul Death

The owner of a dog who fatally mauled a neighbor as she watched has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for murder, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Lawyer Marjorie Knoller lost control of her vicious 140-pound dog, who attacked neighbor Diane Whipple in 2001 in the hallway of their San Francisco apartment building. Knoller "left Ms. Whipple in the hallway to die alone," and later "blamed the victim," the judge noted.

Knoller insisted that Whipple, a college lacrosse coach, was using an arousing fragrance or steroids that provoked the dog. The case revealed bizarre details about Knoller and her husband, who adopted an adult white supremacist convict they claimed owned the two Presa Canario dogs in their home. The dogs featured in pornographic prison sketches and photos that also involved Knoller were found in the convict's cell. The case rumbled through the California court system, slowed by appeals and reversals.
(More Marjorie Knoller stories.)