Andrea Sneiderman attorney Tom Clegg mocked the state’s case, two of its witnesses and the police investigation into the death of the Dunwoody widow’s husband while prosecutor Robert James pointed the finger directly at the defendant in spirited closing arguments Thursday afternoon.
“You’re a liar!” James, the DeKalb County district attorney said, approaching Sneiderman, who avoided eye contact. “You are a liar!”
Clegg accused the state of presenting “a well-edited TV show,” asking jurors, “What on earth are we doing here?”
Prosecutors allege that Sneiderman, 37, misled investigators and hindered the apprehension of a criminal in connection with her husband’s murder. She has denied accusations of an affair with her former boss, Hemy Neuman, who was convicted last year in the fatal shooting of Rusty Sneiderman outside a Dunwoody day care facility in November 2010.
“Hemy Neuman had an obsession with this woman, had an infatuation with this woman,” Clegg said. “She is a victim, make no mistake. “
James argued she’s anything but innocent.
“She’s a manipulator. She’s a deceiver,” he said. “If this was the street, they’d say she’s got game.”
Day Nine of Sneiderman’s trial began with the mother of two telling DeKalb Superior Court Judge Gregory A. Adams that she would not testify, though her testimony from Neuman’s trial in February 2012 was interspersed throughout James’ closing argument.
On one clip, from Sneiderman’s interview with investigators on the day after Neuman’s arrest, she claims she traveled to Longmont, Col., alone. On another, she acknowledges, under oath, that the two were in Colorado together.
“We wouldn’t be here if she knew how to tell the truth,” James said.
Clegg, meanwhile, went after many of the major players in a saga nearly three years in the making.
- The Dunwoody Police Department: "They blew it, folks. (Andrea Sneiderman) gave them Hemy Neuman on a silver platter."
- Sneiderman's former best friend, Shayna Citron, who broke down repeatedly during her testimony: "Shayna is trying out for a TV show, isn't she? The Real Housewives of Atlanta." Clegg even poked fun at the prosecution witness' wardrobe: "Did you see what she was wearing?"
- The prosecution's case: "This is why we're here, folks: Did she kiss a guy in a bar in October 2010?"
James, wrapping up his argument, said the defense was obfuscating, pointing to evidence he asserted proved the state’s case.
“How many times does Andrea Sneiderman have to lie before someone holds her accountable,” he said.
Jurors are expected to begin deliberating by 4 p.m.
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