Day Seven in the trial of Hemy Neuman, charged in the Nov. 18, 2010 death of Dunwoody businessman Rusty Sneiderman, began Wednesday morning in DeKalb Superior Court. The prosecution concluded its case on Tuesday.
Prosecution: DeKalb DA Robert James and Chief Assistant DA Don Geary.
Defense: Attorneys Bob Rubin and Doug Peters
Judge: Gregory Adams
For background on the story, read here. Follow the trial live here. Follow the trial on Twitter.
Here's ajc.com's minute-by-minute coverage from Wednesday's court session:
4:29 p.m. Judge Adams dismisses Dr. Peter Thomas from the witness stand. He then adjourns court for the day. Trial resumes at 9 a.m. Thursday.
4:15 p.m. After numerous questions about his findings, Dr. Thomas again asserts that his tests results of Neuman were preliminary and hypothetical and were not by any means iron clad.
4:10 p.m.: Dr. Thomas read his notes that show that Neuman was confused about whether he and Sneiderman had had sex in Greenville, S.C. And again about whether they had sex in England, "at least I think we did," Neuman said. "At that point, I didn't know if he knew what was real and what wasn't, Dr. Thomas testified.
4:05 p.m.: Dr. Thomas talks about notes he took from Neuman about the fantasies Andrea Sneiderman had about him and about their trips together.
4 p.m.: Thomas testified that Neuman discussed with him a trip he and Sneiderman took to Norfolk Va. They were sharing and feeding each other, according to Thomas' notes. "It became a date. He felt comfortable with her and told her how it felt to be sent to boarding school as a teen," according to Thomas' notes. He said Neuman told him that Sneiderman told him that she was fantasizing about him, but she was committed to her husband.
3:55 p.m.: Thomas said when he followed up with Neuman, Neuman described an image that 'tried to engulf him, tried to choke him,' when he was younger and sent away to Israel. He said Neuman was relating 'demons' to what he had experienced as a teen in Israel in boarding school.
3:50 p.m.: Thomas said Neuman discussed with him his affair with Andrea Sneiderman. Thomas said he believed him when Neuman said they had had intercourse.
3:45 p.m.: 'The mission was to be with her and her to be happy," Thomas's notes from Neuman read. Thomas said Neuman never mentioned to him that an angel that looked like Olivia Newton-John told him to kill Rusty Sneiderman or that a demon who sounded like Barry White told him to kill Sneiderman. thomas said he he couldn't recall whether Neuman mentioned having suicidal thoughts.
3:37 p.m.: Thomas said he did not talk to anyone else to determine whether Neuman was malingering. Geary asked Thomas "Don't you think that was dangerous to make a professional opinion based on one source?" Thomas said he did exactly what he was asked to do by giving his limited assessment of Neuman so that Dorney and others would know how to proceed with a fuller assessment.
3:30 p.m.: Thomas tells Assistant DA Geary he did not give Neuman a specific test to determine malingering. Thomas concedes his test results showed a possibility that Neuman was malingering.
3:27 p.m.: Thomas said Neuman seemed confused about whether he had had an intimate relationship with Sneiderman. He said both tests indicated that Neuman had psychological problems.
3:20 p.m.: Dr. Thomas said Neuman spoke in a way that was "very naive, yet, sophisticated" and he spoke in a way that was very "confusing." Thomas thought the defendant had very "bizarre" thoughts.
3:15 p.m.: Thomas said he formed tentative opinions of Neuman using the two tests he administered. He said he got a valid profile of Neuman. He did not think Neuman was 'malingering' from the test results. Neuman responded in a way that was 'moralistic' and 'unrealistically virtuous,' Thomas said. He responded in a way that had me questioning whether he had psychotic behaviors, Thomas said.
3:10 p.m.: Dr. Thomas was asked by a colleague Julie Rand Dorney to help with psychological testing of Neuman. He saw Neuman on May 11, 2011 and administered two psychological tests and a clinical interview at the behest of Neuman's lawyers. He saw Neuman again on June 17 to get more clarification on some of his test findings.
3 p.m.: Break ends. Defense calls Dr. Peter Thomas, a licensed psychologist in Georgia since 1981, mainly in child and family counseling. He says it's his first time on the witness stand as an expert witness on a criminal case.
2:50 p.m.: Dorney testimony ends. Judge calls for short break.
2:45 p.m.: Dorney says Neuman told her he disguised himself because he didn't want Andrea Sneiderman to know he had killed her husband.
2:41 p.m.: Dorney says there must be a determination of psychosis to reach a conclusion of legally insane. She says someone could seem normal to others and still be delusional. She says she doesn't think Neuman was malingering when she interviewed him.
2:40 p.m.: Attorneys are conferring with Judge Adams.
2:35 p.m.: Rubin begins redirect of Dorney.
2:27 p.m.: Dorney says she did not believe Neuman was "malingering" any mental illness when she interviewed him. She says that someone being psychotic or bipolar doesn't mean he doesn't know the difference between right and wrong. But Dorney says Georgia law does not distinguish between "legally wrong" or "morally wrong" in determining the insanity defense -- he could know his actions were legally wrong but didn't feel they were morally wrong and still fit the legal definition, she says.
2:22 p.m.: Dorney said Neuman compared himself and Andrea Sneiderman to King David and Bathsheba, but, after a question from Geary, says Neuman never mentioned having hallucinations.
2:16 p.m.: Geary asks Dorney if she's aware that the analysis of a Rorschach test showed Neuman might be trying to "dramatize or simulate" psychological problems. She says she was not aware of that because she did not administer the test.
2:09 p.m.: Judge Adams returns, prosecution begins cross-examination. Dorney tells Geary that Neuman never mentioned demons or other figures telling him to kill Rusty Sneiderman. Dorney concedes she has been "fooled" before by suspects pretending to be insane.
2:07 p.m.: Attorneys are in courtroom, but Judge Adams is still out.
1:48 p.m.: Defense and prosecuting attorneys huddle with Judge Adams, who then calls for a break.
1:43 p.m.: Dorney says Neuman told her he felt he needed to protect the Sneidermans' children, and said he "went back and forth" on whether he believed the Sneidermen children belonged to him. She says that during screening Neuman did not claim to be seeing visions, did not have hallucinations but seemed confused at times.
1:36 p.m.: Dorney said it was difficult to determine fact from fantasy in Neuman's relationship with Andrea Sneiderman. He said at one point they had sex but later said he wasn't sure. She says Neuman had some symptoms of a "psychotic disorder." She says Neuman may have been driven by his "obsessive thoughts."
1:33 p.m.: Rubin continues questioning of Dorney, who said Neuman had feelings of abandonment when he was sent to Israel to go to school.
1:30 p.m.: Judge Adams returns to courtroom, meets briefly with attorneys, then jurors return.
11:58 a.m.: The judge dismissed the jury for lunch until 1:30 p.m.
11:55 a.m.: She said that she asked Dr. Peter Thomas, who works in her office, to go to the jail and do some "objective" testing of Neuman. She said that Thomas "raised some serious questions about whether there were mental health issues" and "found evidence of paranoia, confusion, depression, social alienation."
11:43 a.m.: Dorney said she was asked by the defense to be a consultant for their case. Her understanding was that she would do a screening of the defendant to see if there were any psychological issues. She said that she did it without charge, and that she did not expect to be an expert witness in the case.
11:38 a.m.: The witness said she has testified in approximately 130 trials civil and criminal. For the state 61 times in criminal cases, for the defense 28 times.
11:28 a.m.: Dr. Julie Rand Dorney, a forensic psychiatrist, takes the stand for the defense and spends the next several minutes giving her background in the field.
11:18 a.m.: The judge gives the jurors a five-minute stretch break in the jury room.
11:16 a.m.: Pikowski testifies that the transcript being admitted into evidence is that of Hemy Neuman and that it is correct.
11:14 a.m.: The defense calls to the stand Reta Pikowski, registrar at Georgia Tech.
11:10 a.m.: Adams takes a short break to give the jurors time to stand and stretch.
11:08 a.m.: Asked again by defense attorneys about being hit by their father, Metsch said, "I've been kicked where my buns were the color of an eggplant, over and over again. He grabbed a painting off the wall and hit me over and over again, asking me if it hurts. Those things, you don't forget. Asked if those types of things also happened to Neuman, she said yes, "if not a lot more."
11:oo a.m.: She said that even though her brother confided in her, he never told her about hearing demons, or about Barry White or about Olivia Newton-John. She did say that her brother told her that he had considered suicide. Asked if he told her that he had tried to commit suicide seven times, she said, "No. He told me that he was contemplating suicide."
10:58 a.m.: She said she didn't know why Neuman didn't want to go out when she spent the four weeks with him in 1981. She said she is pretty close to her brother and knows him well. She said he "sometimes" confides in her.
10:49 a.m.: Metsch returned to the stand, saying that she was afraid of their father, that he would "yell at me, hit me. There was always this anxiety." Asked by the district attorney if her father ever hit her, Metsch replied, "Oh yeah."
10:37 a.m.: Adams calls for 10-minute break.
10:35 a.m.: She says on a visit in 2010, Hemy told her he had developed a close relationship with a colleague but said nothing about a physical relationship. He told her he was seeing a therapist. She says he never appeared to be hallucinating and he seemed logical.
10:30 a.m.: She said the Neuman family was experiencing financial problems, but says on a visit to their Atlanta home in 2008 they were building an elaborate garden and waterfall and says Neuman's wife had a new diamond ring. She says Hemy seemed angry at times, describes one occasion when Neuman "exploded" on his wife. "It was horrible" says it was "totally out of character."
10:25 a.m.: Metsch says she spent four weeks with Hemy in the summer of 1981. She says Hemy never wanted to go out and they spent most of the time watching TV. She says Hemy did not appear happy.
10:19 a.m.: Metsch says her father's anger came from his lack of control over their mother; says she was frequently out, was never home when they came home from school.
10:11 a.m.: She says her father's outbursts included "physical" confrontations. "I would always blame everything on Hemy ... he would hit with an open hand ... It was more like rage, he was angry with God, he was angry with my mom."
10:16 a.m.: Metsch says her father's anger came from his lack of control over her mother; says she was frequently gone.
10:14 a.m.: She describes an occasion when Hemy went to get a bowl of ice cream and her father began slapping him. She says he hit Hemy more than her.
10:09 a.m.: Metsch says the family was very tense when her father came home from work. "He was just a very angry man," she says, and there were frequent fights and screaming.
10:04 a.m.: Defense calls first witness, Monique Metsch, younger sister of Hemy Neuman. Attorney Bob Rubin questions Metsch about their father's experience as a survivor of Nazi death camps. She says her father discussed those experiences with her and Hemy Neuman.
10:03 a.m.: Jury enters courtroom.
10:02 a.m.: Judge Adams denies motion for mistrial.
10:01 a.m.: Defense attorney Peters moves for a mistrial.
10:00 a.m.: Adams grants state's motion to limit Citron's testimony so she will not be able to testify about the confrontation with Andrea Sneiderman.
9:40 a.m.: Prosecutor Don Geary says he cannot prosecute Andrea Sneiderman for witness intimidation because the witness, Citron, had been released when the conversation took place. Judge Adams orders a recess to consider the motion.
9:35 a.m.: Peters says he believes Andrea Sneiderman committed a felony under Georgia law in her conversation with Citron; says Sneiderman has demonstrated an attempt to manipulate the witness. "Andrea Sneiderman is playing each and every one of us for a fool," Peters says. He asks Adams to deny state's motion to prohibit testimony about Sneiderman's behavior.
9:30 a.m.: Peters describes encounter between Andrea Sneiderman and witness Shayna Citron outside the courtroom after Citron's testimony. Citron told Peters that Sneiderman made what she considered a threat to her. The jury is not present.
9:18 a.m.: Attorneys arguing motion concerning whether the jury can be told of Andrea Sneiderman's behavior concerning improper contact with witnesses. The widow was barred from the courthouse due to her behavior. The defense wants to admit evidence of her behavior as a means to impeach her as a witness.
9:15 a.m.: Judge Adams advises Neuman that he has the right to decide whether or not to testify. Neuman answers "yes sir" when asked if he understands. Adams says "You can change your mind at anytime."
9:10 a.m.: Adams, lawyers continue to talk.
9 a.m.: Judge Adams enters courtroom, huddles with lawyers.
8:55 a.m.: Hemy Neuman enters court, joins attorneys already present.
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