The attorneys for a Dunwoody widow implicated in her husband’s death scored a legal but non-binding victory Tuesday when DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Gregory Adams dismissed four of the non-murder charges against her.
But those charges against Andrea Sneiderman — for allegedly giving false statements to law enforcement — aren’t going away. Prosecutors, likely sensing that Adams would rule in the defense’s favor, filed a revised 16-count indictment last week, fine-tuning some of the language called into question by Sneiderman’s attorneys.
The mother of two still faces malice murder and felony murder charges for her alleged role in the death of her husband, Rusty Sneiderman. Hemy Neuman, Andrea Sneiderman’s former supervisor at GE Energy, was sentenced to life in prison last March after acknowledging that he shot the Ohio-born entrepreneur outside his son’s daycare facility in November 2010. She has denied any involvement in her spouse’s death.
In a hearing last month before Judge Adams, Sneiderman’s lawyers argued the state had failed to specifically address allegations she lied to police and concealed evidence that could have led to Neuman’s capture.
“She is entitled to an indictment that adequately, legally, sufficiently puts her on notice of what she’s accused of doing,” defense attorney John Petrey told the court. “And we ain’t there yet.”
Adams agreed.
“A criminal indictment … must allege every essential element of the crime charged, and each count set forth in an indictment must be wholly complete within itself and plainly, fully and distinctly set out the crime charged in that count,” the judge wrote in his ruling.
Four of the disputed counts “did not meet that standard,” Adams concluded.
Prosecutors maintain Sneiderman was repeatedly dishonest with investigators. They previously cited testimony from Dunwoody police’s lead detective on the case alleging Sneiderman steered investigators away from Neuman.
Dunwoody Police Chief Billy Grogan told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last year that his investigators came to believe Sneiderman was lying about her relationship with with the Cobb County engineer.
Sneiderman, currently living with her parents in Johns Creek under house arrest, insists she was not romantically involved with Neuman.
Adams also ruled to grant attorney Esther Panitch’s motion to quash a defense subpoena for documents from her client, Neuman’s ex-wife, Ariela. The judge also sided with the state in quashing subpoenas served on Ariela Neuman and four members of Rusty Sneiderman’s immediate family: his parents, brother and sister-in-law.
Andrea Sneiderman is due back in court May 21 for arraignment on the new indictment. Her trial remains set for July 29.
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