Four months after her former boss was found guilty in the death of her husband, Andrea Sneiderman was indicted Thursday in the murder.
Though Sneiderman is not charged with pulling the trigger when her husband, Rusty Sneiderman, was gunned down in the parking lot of a Dunwoody day care, the indictment states that she "did with malice aforethought cause the death."
Putnam County deputies arrested Andrea Sneiderman, 36, Thursday morning at her home on Lake Oconee and transported her to the DeKalb County jail.
She has previously denied any involvement in her husband's murder and insists she was never romantically involved with Hemy Neuman, her former supervisor at GE Energy who acknowledged shooting Rusty Sneiderman in November 2010.
Attorneys for Neuman, who is currently serving a life sentence without parole after a jury found him guilty but mentally ill in the murder, say their client is willing to cooperate with prosecutors in their case against Andrea Sneiderman.
"His perspective on things is definitely different," Neuman attorney Bob Rubin said..
"He now sees how Andrea played him like a yo-yo," Rubin said.
DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James would not say whether prosecutors intend to call on Neuman during a news conference Thursday afternoon in which he detailed the eight-count indictment against the 36-year-old mother of two.
The charges against Sneiderman are malice murder, attempted murder, insurance fraud, racketeering and two counts each of perjury and false statements. The fraud charge stems from the $2 million she received after Rusty Sneiderman's death.
According to the indictment, Sneiderman and Neuman "conspired together to murder Rusty Sneiderman so that they could enjoy a life together, eliminate Neuman's debt problems and fully benefit from the assets the Sneidermans had acquired as well as the proceeds of Rusty Sneiderman's life insurance policies."
James said prosecutors would use "the same formula that worked last time," referring to Neuman's conviction.
Sneiderman's attorneys said their client was innocent of all charges, and they criticized her arrest.
"We are confident that, when an unbiased jury hears the facts of this case, it will be clear that Andrea is innocent," defense attorney J. Tom Morgan said.
The woman's attorneys said they had no advance knowledge of Thursday's arrest, adding they had asked James two months ago to allow them to hand over their client if charges were brought.
"We were as surprised as anyone else," said Morgan, a former DeKalb district attorney.
The indictment lays out a concise timeline of the alleged conspiracy, which prosecutors say was hatched when Sneiderman and Neuman began an affair soon after she began working at GE Energy. Sneiderman maintained throughout Neuman's trial that the two had never engaged in an affair.
Eight days before her husband's murder, the indictment states, Sneiderman "provided Neuman with Rusty Sneiderman's schedule for the morning of November 10, 2010," along with an escape route — a hidden path near the Sneidermans' home in Dunwoody. Neuman had planned to kill Rusty Sneiderman that day at the Sneidermans' residence. The plan was thwarted when Rusty Sneiderman smelled a gas leak and discovered Neuman, dressed in a disguise, hiding outside his house. Sneiderman did not recognize Neuman, who fled.
On Nov. 18, according to the indictment, Andrea Sneiderman again informed Neuman of her husband's schedule. Shortly after 9 a.m. in the parking lot of Dunwoody Prep, just after Rusty Sneiderman had dropped off his son, Neuman approached the 36-year-old entrepreneur and shot him several times with a gun he bought on Halloween.
Following her husband's murder, Andrea Sneiderman "misled police by indicating she was not in a relationship with Neuman," according to the indictment. She later told close friend Shayna Citron she "thought Neuman killed her husband," but the widow did not tell police. On Dec. 30, Sneiderman allegedly told another friend, Tammy Parker, that she knew her former supervisor was the killer but again did not share that information with authorities.
Citron's testimony is likely to factor heavily in one of the false statement charges against Sneiderman involving her actions on the day of her husband's shooting. During Neuman's trial, Citron testified that Sneiderman called her while heading for Atlanta Medical Center — where Rusty Sneiderman was pronounced dead — and said he had been shot.
That morning, Sneiderman was contacted by an administrator at the day care and told only there had been an accident not involving her son, Ian.
After Citron testified, Sneiderman stood up, kissed her on the lips, then hugged her as she left the courtroom. Sneiderman then walked outside to castigate her friend for betraying her.
Superior Court Judge Gregory Adams later barred Sneiderman from the courthouse for disruptive behavior and engaging witnesses even after she was told not to do so.
Sneiderman later testified that she did not learn what had happened to her husband until she arrived at the hospital. It would prove to be a crucial admission, as her father-in-law, Don Sneiderman, joined Citron in testifying that Sneiderman called — before she got to the hospital — to tell them about the shooting.
"She sank her own ship with that testimony," said Citron's attorney, Jay Abt, adding he doubts Sneiderman would have been indicted had she not taken the stand in Neuman's trial. "They set a trap and she walked right into it."
Rusty Sneiderman's family released a statement expressing gratitude to the district attorney's office for its "relentless pursuit of the truth in this case."
The family went on to say, "This action, however, brings us no joy."
Andrea Sneiderman remains incarcerated in the DeKalb jail. A bond hearing has been set for Aug. 21.
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