If not for his estranged wife's separation suit, accused killer Hemy Neuman would find himself in a less vulnerable position as he awaits trial in the November 2010 slaying of Dunwoody entrepreneur Rusty Sneiderman.
Instead Neuman is the focus of parallel investigations seeking to convict him as both a philanderer and killer, with evidence from one case occasionally informing the other.
On Thursday, Ariela Neuman's attorney, Esther Panitch, subpoenaed DeKalb County Chief Assistant District Attorney Don Geary along with the prosecution's "complete investigation file" in the Sneiderman case. That evidence, Panitch contends, will prove that Neuman was involved in an extramarital affair with Sneiderman's widow, who worked under the suspect at GE Energy.
That alleged relationship has been a key component of both cases, to varying degrees. In late February, investigators, seeking to obtain a search warrant of email and cell phone records between Hemy Neuman and Andrea Sneiderman, told a DeKalb judge the former co-workers were in "continuous communication" before and after the Nov. 18 shooting.
Yet the D.A. has avoided any direct allegations of an affair, saying the information sought was "not necessarily illicit" but "may reveal motive to murder [Rusty Sneiderman]."
Panitch was much less circumspect when she filed the separation suit roughly two weeks after those search warrants were granted.
"We believe there was an extramarital relationship between Hemy Neuman and Andrea Sneiderman," Panitch told the AJC in March.
As she seeks to obtain more evidence of the alleged affair, Panitch has remained a persistent thorn in the defense's side, often thwarting efforts to portray the 48-year-old suspect in a more sympathetic light. For instance, she challenged Neuman attorney Doug Peters' assertion that his client was a "wonderful father," telling reporters that none of his three children have visited him in jail since he was arrested in January.
The separation suit also has placed an uncomfortable spotlight on Andrea Sneiderman, who has remained publicly silent and virtually unseen since her husband's death. Though it's unclear how prominently, if at all, she'll figure in the murder trial, Sneiderman is central to Panitch's case -- the alleged "other woman" accused of breaking up Ariela Neuman's 22-year marriage.
Sneiderman has declined to discuss allegations of an affair. In her only statement since the shooting, she referred to her former boss as a "friend of our family," adding she was "shocked" to learn of Neuman's arrest.
Panitch has subpoenaed Sneiderman to testify later this month. No doubt the prosecution in the criminal case will be studying those transcripts.
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