Now that a settlement has been reached in her client's separation suit, attorney Esther Panitch said Thursday Ariela Neuman will be filing for divorce from her husband of 22 years, charged in last November's fatal shooting outside a Dunwoody day care facility.
The settlement deal, announced Wednesday, followed several months of legal brinkmanship between Panitch and Joe Winter, representing murder suspect Hemy Neuman, over what was admissible in the separation case. Panitch had subpoenaed DeKalb County chief assistant District Attorney Don Geary, along with the prosecution's "complete investigation file" in the Sneiderman case, contending evidence confirmed an affair between Hemy Neuman, accused of killing Rusty Sneiderman last fall, and Sneiderman's widow.
Hemy Neuman was Andrea Sneiderman's supervisor at GE Energy.
Winter argued that conduct was irrelevant in the separation case and moved to quash the subpoenas sought by Panitch.
"This is a waste of time, money and assets for everyone concerned, " Winter said at a status conference earlier this month.
The debate will likely start anew when Ariela Neuman files for divorce.
Meanwhile, the two sides continued to poke at one another, saying each could have settled the separation suit months ago.
"It should have been over a long time ago," Winter said. "It’s the same offer we made several months ago that counsel for Ms. Neuman has now finally accepted."
But Panitch said Hemy Neuman had the chance to resolve the suit in February, when she visited him in jail with an offer she classified as more generous to the alleged killer than the one he agreed to this week.
"He insisted on having control on how the money was being spent," said Panitch, adding that Neuman had not been fully forthcoming on his assets.
Whatever assets remain will probably not be enough to save the Neuman's east Cobb home, which is in foreclosure and set for the auction block in July, said Panitch.
In the meantime, Ariela Neuman "will continue to cooperate with the criminal investigation into her husband's alleged acts on November 18," said her attorney.
Panitch also alluded to a quote from attorney Robert Rubin, co-counsel in the upcoming murder trial, that the defense believes there is "someone else that the police should be looking for."
"We agree with that statement, because if Mr. Neuman committed this horrific crime, based on my investigation of the civil case, it does not appear that he could have acted alone," Panitch said.
Rubin, reached Thursday, said he was not implying that his client had an accomplice in Rusty Sneiderman's shooting.
"We continue to maintain that Mr. Neuman is not guilty," Rubin said.
Neuman's trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 17 in DeKalb County.
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