Diane Whipple
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Diane Alexis Whipple (January 21, 1968 – January 26, 2001) was a lacrosse player and coach, who is best known as the fatal victim of a dog attack in San Francisco in January, 2001. The dogs involved were two Presa Canarios owned by neighbors living in the same apartment building.
Life
Whipple was born in Princeton, New Jersey. Her hometown became Manhasset, New York on Long Island, where she grew up and attended high school. She was raised primarily by her grandparents, and it quickly became apparent that she was a gifted athlete. As her athletic prowess increased, lacrosse became her sport of choice.
A two-time All-American in high school, and at Penn State, perhaps no other factor more defined Whipple's life than her athletic talent and drive. She was twice a member of the U.S. Women's Lacrosse World Cup team.
Whipple later moved to San Francisco, and came within seconds of qualifying for the U.S. 1996 Olympics team in track and field, for the 800 meters. Failure to make the team was a huge disappointment for her. She became a coach and teacher, assuming the position as the lacrosse coach at Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga, California. She was often described as a beloved and memorable mentor.
Whipple was openly lesbian, and lived together with her long term partner Sharon Smith, another lacrosse coach. [link]
Death
On January 26 2001, Whipple was killed by two large Presa Canario dogs who attacked her in the hallway of the apartment building. The dogs were owned by neighbors, Marjorie Knoller and her husband Robert Noel, both attorneys. The two were subsequently charged and received prison sentences for manslaughter (a judge dropped a second-degree murder conviction against Knoller, but a California state court of appeals reversed that ruling in May 2005; the California Supreme Court in late July 2005 agreed that it will review this case).
Knoller, a small woman, failed to restrain her dogs when they attacked Whipple. Noel was not present during the attack. Their convictions were based on the claim that they knew the dogs were aggressive towards other people and did not take sufficient precautions with such large and dangerous animals. Whether they had actually trained the dogs to attack and fight remained unclear.
The dogs had been raised on behalf of Paul Schneider, a high-ranking member of the prison gang Aryan Brotherhood who was serving a life sentence in Pelican Bay State Prison. Schneider and his cell mate Dale Bretches were attempting to start a fighting-dog business from within prison. Noel and Knoller had become acquainted with Schneider while doing legal work for prisoners. They agreed to take possession of the dogs when the previous caretaker fell out of favor with Schneider. A few days before the mauling, Knoller and Noel agreed to adopt the 38-year-old Schneider. [link]
Allegations were also made that the two committed zoophilia against their dogs, and the prosecution contends that this may have triggered the attack[link]. The judge, however, did not allow these claims into evidence. As of early 2004, both Knoller and Noel have served their terms for the manslaughter conviction. Knoller is out on bail while her conviction is under appeal.
The question of whether Whipple's partner of seven years, Sharon Smith, was able to sue for damages caused considerable legal complications and has yet to be resolved fully.
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Further reading
- Jones, Aphrodite. Red Zone: The Behind-The-Scenes Story of the San Francisco Dog Mauling. ISBN 0060537825
External links
- [Dog Bite Law discussion]
- [The San Francisco Dog Mauling]
- [Court TV coverage]
- [San Francisco Chronicle coverage]
- [Background information on the two lawyers who owned the dogs]
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