Sneiderman widow told police Neuman made unwanted advance
Andrea Sneiderman told Dunwoody police her supervisor at General Electric had made an unwanted advance toward her but “seriously minimized” the encounter, the lead detective investigating the fatal shooting of Sneiderman's husband testified Monday.
Detectives didn't pursue Hemy Neuman, charged in Rusty Sneiderman's slaying Nov. 18 outside a Dunwoody day care facility, because "we were being driven towards other avenues of investigation" by Andrea Sneiderman and her immediate family, Det. Anthony Thompson said.
It would be roughly six weeks before Neuman was interviewed by police. The focus shifted to the Marietta engineer after investigators discovered that, one day before the shooting, Neuman rented a 2011 silver Kia Sedona matching the description of the vehicle seen fleeing the scene, Thompson testified.
Despite those two pieces of information, Neuman was not a suspect on Jan. 4 when police questioned him about the rental car. The officer who conducted the interview – which led to Neuman’s arrest later that afternoon – said he was unaware at the time Neuman was Andrea Sneiderman's boss.
Investigators had “yet to compare notes,” Sgt. Gary Cortellino testified.
Andrea Sneiderman's attorney, Seth Kirschenbaum, said "it appears that was an attempt by Thompson to deflect responsibility for not following up on a lead."
Neuman's attorneys moved Monday to dismiss their client’s statement to police, arguing investigators mishandled the interview.
"It's mighty interesting one-and-a-half months into this case that they clearly knew about [Neuman being Andrea Sneiderman's supervisor] but that information wasn't shared with all the investigators," defense attorney Bob Rubin said.
Neuman was not read his Miranda Rights until hours after the inquiry commenced, Cortellino said under questioning from Rubin.
"I could tell he knew perhaps more than he was telling us," Cortellino said. At that point Neuman, present without an attorney, was read his rights.
“I don’t want to waive my rights but I do want to talk," said Neuman, according to Cortellino's testimony.
“He asked, ‘Do I need a lawyer?' I don’t know, do you need one?” Cortellino replied.
Nearly 50 minutes later, Neuman was arrested and charged with Rusty Sneiderman's murder.
Rubin also questioned whether there was enough probable cause to arrest his client. All police knew prior to the Jan. 4 interview was that Neuman had rented the Kia Sedona on Nov. 17, Cortellino confirmed.
DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Gregory Adams said he will rule on the motion to dismiss the statement in three days.
Monday’s hearing was attended by Rusty Sneiderman's father and brother, who flew in from Cleveland. They had met the suspect once before while sitting shivah at Rusty and Andrea Sneiderman’s Dunwoody home after the funeral. Neuman introduced himself and offered condolences.
"We wanted to be here for Rusty," said older brother Steve Sneiderman. He declined further comment. Andrea Sneiderman did not attend the hearing.
About the Author
A native Atlantan, Boone joined the AJC staff in 2007. He quickly carved out a niche covering crime stories, assuming the public safety beat in 2014. He's covered some of the biggest trials this decade, from Hemy Neuman to Ross Harris to Chip Olsen, the latter of which was featured on Season 7 of the AJC's award-winning "Breakdown" podcast.
