Witness describes deadly dog attack on neighbor

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — A woman who witnessed the fatal dog-mauling of Diane Whipple through the peephole of her apartment described the horrifying scene in court Wednesday and said she heard the dogs’ owner yelling, "Get off!" and "No, no, no!"

Esther Birkmaier, 78, was calm and detailed as she described hearing barking and cries for help. When she peered through the peephole, she said, she saw a body on the floor and a dark shadow that looked like a dog.

She said she watched for two to three minutes before calling 911 and telling the dispatcher, "I think they’re attacking the owner, too."

The dogs’ owners, Marjorie Knoller, 46, and Robert Noel, 60, are on trial in the death of Whipple, 33. Their powerful Presa Canario dogs killed the college lacrosse coach in the hall outside her apartment last year.

After Birkmaier testified, prosecutors called the first police officer on the scene to identify photos showing Whipple’s badly mauled body. Jurors saw pictures of the woman’s gnawed neck, puncture wounds on her legs, buttocks and abdomen and blood streaked along her arms. She died shortly after the attack.

Whipple’s mother, who was seated in a front row of the courtroom, left in tears. Knoller and Noel averted their eyes, and some jurors looked away.

San Francisco police Sgt. Leslie Forestal testified she found Whipple in the hall trying to crawl toward her apartment.

"I told her to please be still, we had an ambulance en route and to try to be calm," Forestal said.

The officer said she drew her gun because no one was sure where the dogs were. Then, she testified, an apartment door opened and Knoller stepped out. When the officers asked about the dogs, she said they were in her apartment. Forestal said she saw no wounds on Knoller, though one sleeve of her sweatshirt was torn.

Knoller is charged with second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and having a mischievous animal that killed a human. Noel, who was not there when the attack occurred, faces the latter two charges.

Attorneys for the couple have argued the dogs’ behavior was unexpected and that Knoller was injured trying to stop the attack.

Knoller’s attorney, Nedra Ruiz, suggested during cross-examination Wednesday that the shadow Birkmaier saw was not a dog but Knoller throwing her body over Whipple to protect her.

Birkmaier admitted her view was limited, but said, "As I was looking through the peephole, all I thought about was a victim on the floor and a dog."