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Updated: 7:05 p.m. Wednesday, March 14, 2012 | Posted: 5:56 p.m. Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Neuman jury ends 1st day's deliberations; widow hires new lawyers

By Christian Boone and  Mike Morris

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Jurors asked to see videos of interviews conducted with defendant Hemy Neuman before wrapping up their first day of deliberations without a verdict in the Dunwoody daycare shooter's trial.

The video they requested had Neuman, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the November 2010 fatal shooting of Rusty Sneiderman, discussing his experiences at an Israeli boarding school.

It is there, defense attorneys argued, that Neuman first encountered an apparition, the onset of his mental instability.

In the interview with the state's forensic psychiatrist, Neuman discussed feelings of abandonment and isolation when he arrived at the boarding school.

Neuman, on the tape, says that he got to the boarding school about midnight to find the gates locked. He ended up staying in a shack where, Neuman claims, he was visited by a demon that told him he was worthless.

About 3 p.m., after the jury had reviewed the tape for about an hour, DeKalb Superior Court Judge Gregory Adams noticed that several jurors had their eyes closed.

The nine-woman, three-man jury will get an early start at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Adams instructed, with only a one-hour break for lunch scheduled.

Closing arguments concluded late Tuesday with both the defense and prosecution arguing the victim's widow, Andrea Sneiderman, played a role in her husband's shooting.

The prosecution contends she had advance knowledge of the shooting, and the defense said she manipulated Neuman into committing the crime.

Neuman was Andrea Sneiderman's supervisor at GE Energy. She has not been charged in connection with her husband's slaying and denies any involvement.

On Wednesday, the widow hired a new team of lawyers, including a former DeKalb assistant district attorney, Jennifer Little, and Douglas Chalmers Jr.

Little has "significant experience counseling individuals who, like Mrs. Sneiderman, are family members of the victims of violent crimes," according to a statement Little issued Wednesday afternoon to news  media covering the trial.

Little said she would have no comment until after a verdict in the Neuman trial.

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