LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge ruled Tuesday that the partner of a woman killed last year by two dogs can testify that one of the animals had bitten the victim earlier.

Superior Court Judge James L. Warren cleared the way for testimony from Sharon Smith, who said that during a telephone conversation in December 2000, Diane Whipple told her: "That dog just bit me."

Smith said she understood "that dog" to mean either Bane or Hera, the two presa canarios owned by neighbors Robert Noel and Marjorie Knoller. The couple have been charged in Whipple's death last January.

The victim, a 33-year-old lacrosse coach, was carrying groceries to her San Francisco apartment when she was attacked by the dogs being walked by Knoller.

The trial was transferred to Los Angeles due to extensive publicity in San Francisco. Jury selection is scheduled to resume next week.

Smith said that when she got home from work the day of the earlier incident she saw marks but no broken skin on Whipple's left hand. She said Whipple told her Noel was present when the dog bit her.

She said Whipple recounted telling Noel, "You need to control your dog," but that he "just stood there and did nothing."

Prosecutor Jim Hammer said the judge's decision to allow jurors to hear that testimony would be important because it could establish that Noel and Knoller had been warned that their dogs were dangerous.

Defense attorneys argued that Smith's testimony was hearsay and unclear. Knoller's attorney, Nedra Ruiz, said Smith's statements were too speculative to be evidence "so crucial to the allegations."

Knoller is charged with second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and owning a vicious dog that caused harm. She faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Noel is charged with manslaughter and lesser charges that could bring up to four years in prison.

Bane was killed immediately after the fatal attack. Hera has been ordered destroyed.