Though a gag order has been imposed in the case, prosecutors and defense lawyers have indicated some of their main points during pretrial hearings and in written motions.

The Prosecution's Case

Prosecutors themselves admit they didn't expect to be trying a murder case. Even Assistant District Attorney James Hammer admits that the "odds are stacked way against us on murder."

But the state does not need to prove that Knoller had any intent in order to prove her guilty of second-degree murder. They must show that the Knoller did something inherently dangerous with a conscious disregard for human life.

Knoller, they say, not only raised vicious dogs, but admitted a blatant disregard in her own grand jury testimony. She testified that after the attack, as Whipple

Whipple

lay bleeding in the hallway of the apartment building, the lawyer went down the hall to her own apartment and returned to Whipple's to locate her keys — but never bothered calling 911.

"If they had behaved differently, it would have been different. It wouldn't have been murder, that's for sure," said District Attorney Terence Hallinan, according to a San Francisco Chronicle Magazine article. "We went into that grand jury thinking we had a manslaughter and vicious dog case. The difference was they went into the grand jury and testified."

But their grand jury testimony wasn't the only time the couple raised eyebrows over at the district attorney's office. In the days following the attack, Noel wrote an 18-page letter to Hallinan's office, laying blame on Whipple and even lacing into Hallinan.

The letter suggested that Whipple, an athlete, was perhaps taking steroids, or that she was wearing pheromone-based perfume which attracted the dogs. Noel reiterates his request that her medicine and cosmetics found in her apartment be preserved for the investigation.

Noel, who has filed numerous lawsuits against his apartment building — including one over a broken shower head — also charges that Whipple perhaps was at his apartment door minutes before the attack as a favor to the apartment manager.

Prosecutors maintain that both Knoller and Noel were part of a dog-raising scheme dreamed up by Schneider, and were well aware their animals were not friendly pets. A copy of the book "Manstopper," a training manual for raising attack dogs, was reportedly spotted during a television interview in Noel's apartment. Noel even admitted owning the book, saying that it was a gift from Bretches.

"They enjoyed creating these monster dogs," Hammer said.

The Defense's Case

The defense in this case may truly turn into a case of "He said, she said." The seemingly united pair recently showed their finger-pointing abilities when they asked the judge to be tried separately.

Knoller and Noel

One account, that Noel called a dog walker who complained about Bane "a bitch," could unfairly prejudice a jury against Knoller, argued Knoller's lawyer Nedra Ruiz.

Ruiz maintained that there was "no way under sun, the stars or the moon that my client did anything to exacerbate violent tendencies."

Knoller also claimed that Noel's comments about the victims and others could damage her own chances of acquittal.

Ruiz contends that witnesses who gave accounts of previous displays of violence by the dogs were exaggerated.

She also said that Knoller was a hero for putting herself between Bane and Whipple.

"She tried to save this woman from a horrible fate," she told Warren at Knoller's August 31, 2001, bail hearing. "Those actions can hardly be considered callous and inconsiderate."

But Noel's lawyer, Bruce Hotchkiss, blamed Knoller's conduct for the attack that killed Whipple, and stressed that Noel was out of town the day the attack happened.

Hotchkiss also says that Noel took proper precautions with the dogs, using a muzzle on them. Noel says he was not raising attack dogs, and only had a copy of "Manstopper" to understand what was involved to keep the breed as a house pet.

The Stakes

There has been no previous murder convictions in California for a dog attack, though there was one in Kansas.

Sabine Davidson

Sabine Davidson was convicted of unintentional second-degree murder for the death of a young boy by three rottweilers. She was also convicted of endangering the welfare of a child under 18. On March 2, 1998, Davidson was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.

If convicted in this case, however, Knoller could get life in prison. She is charged with second-degree murder, which carries a sentence of 15 years to life. She and Noel are both charged with involuntary manslaughter, which carries up to a four-year term, and failing to control a vicious animal, which carries a three-year maximum sentence.

Opening statements, closing arguments and the verdict will air live Feb. 19 on Court TV. Warren has barred cameras from the courtroom for the rest of the trial, which is expected to last approximately a month.