SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) — The man whose two huge dogs mauled a neighbor to death in their apartment building gets out of prison Friday after serving little more than half his four-year sentence.

Robert Noel, 62, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the 2001 death of Diane Whipple. He will be on parole for at least three years.

Noel and his wife, Marjorie Knoller, were convicted in 2002. She, too, was sentenced to four years in prison.

The couple's Canary Island dogs attacked Whipple, 33, in their apartment hallway as she fumbled for her keys. The couple were widely reviled after Noel suggested Whipple may have attracted the dogs' attention with her perfume or even steroids.

Noel, who served most of his time in Oregon, was transferred last week to a state prison in Susanville.

Knoller, 48, is at a prison in Chowchilla and is not scheduled for release until next March.

Both were lawyers who specialized in lawsuits on behalf of inmates.