Fridae

Prosecutors in their closing arguments have urged jurors to convict the two lawyers, Marjorie Knoller and Robert Noel whose massive Presa Canario dogs killed lacrosse coach Diane Whipple in their San Francisco apartment hallway.

Whipple, 33, died after being attacked last year by the dogs, Bane and Hera, in the hallway after returning from buying groceries at the same time Knoller returned from taking one of the dogs for a walk on the roof.

Bane ripped out Whipple's throat and Hera tore at her clothes. The dogs have since been destroyed.

Calling the dogs more dangerous than loaded guns, Prosecutor Jim Hammer said there were plenty of warnings that the dogs were violent, including incidents in which the animals lunged at people on the street and in the couple's apartment building.

Hammer said Knoller and Noel deliberately ignored more than 30 incidents - which he called premonitions of the fatal attack - including times when the dogs lunged at a pregnant woman, bit a neighbour and charged a postal worker.

"It was perfectly foreseeable, and they didn't stop it," he said of Knoller and Noel. "They got off on it some way--power trips."

Defense attorneys insisted that Whipple's death was a tragic accident, and that the defendants could not have known their well-behaved family pets could kill. "The absolutely unthinkable happened," said defense attorney Bruce Hotchkiss.

Knoller's attorney, Nedra Ruiz, countered that Knoller saw the couple's two huge Presa Canario dogs as gentle pets and suggested that the prosecutor was trying to "curry favour with the homosexual and gay forces."

In his closing argument, Hammer reminded the courtroom that Knoller coldly blamed the victim for her own death when asked during a television interview if she took responsibility.

"And cold as ice she said, 'No, she should have closed her door. That's what I would have done'� Those are the real faces of these defendants." Hammer said.

Knoller, 46, is charged with second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and owning a mischievous dog that killed a person. She could receive 15 years in prison if convicted. Her husband, Robert Noel, 60, is charged with the latter two crimes and faces up to four years if convicted. Jurors are expected to begin deliberations Tuesday.

The closing arguments came after more than a month of testimony in the case, which was moved to Los Angeles County Superior Court because of publicity in the Bay Area.

Listen to the opening statements and closing arguments on CourtTV.com.