As both sides argued their case in the Hemy Neuman trial, it seemed one more person should have been seated at the defense table -- the victim's widow, Andrea Sneiderman.
During closing arguments, the highly unusual case became even more unusual as the competing sides pinned much, if not all, of the blame on Sneiderman.
District Attorney Robert James accused both Neuman, on trial for murder, and Sneiderman, who has not been charged with anything, of covering up for one another in the Nov. 18, 2010, shooting of Rusty Sneiderman outside a Dunwoody day care facility. James went so far as to call Andrea Sneiderman a "co-conspirator."
Taking his turn, defense attorney Doug Peters said that while Neuman may have had the gun in his hand, it was Andrea Sneiderman's manipulation of his compromised mental condition that made him pull the trigger.
Peters asked jurors to find Neuman not guilty by reason of insanity in the killing of the 36-year-old, Harvard-educated father of two who was gunned down while dropping off his 2-year-old son. On Wednesday, the jury adjourned without reaching a verdict.
Sneiderman appeared at the trial as a witness for the prosecution. She denied having an affair with Neuman and was subjected to aggressive questioning by both the prosecution and defense. She was later dismissed from the courthouse for being disruptive and engaging witnesses after being instructed not to do so.
Still, the focus on Sneiderman and her relationship with Neuman, whom she worked for at GE Energy, continued, culminating with the explosive allegations against her during closing arguments.
Even though the prosecution and the defense had divergent strategies, there were good reasons why both focused on the widow, lawyers following the case said Wednesday.
"It's definitely unusual, but I'd have been surprised if either side had not focused on her," said John Petrey, a Decatur defense lawyer and former prosecutor.
By alleging Sneiderman shares some of the blame, prosecutors let the jury know how they felt about the case, Petrey said.
"They were able to say, ‘Here's where we are in the Andrea Sneiderman investigation,'" he said. "The jury, as a matter of natural, understandable curiosity, would have wondered why she wasn't there. This sent a message that said, ‘Rest assured, we are focused on her as well.'"
Former DeKalb District Attorney Bob Wilson agreed, saying the prosecution did not want jurors thinking it was hiding Sneiderman from the jury.
"And in light of her testimony as it relates to what happened after the killing, it has probably increased the likelihood she will eventually be charged," he said.
Sneiderman testified that she did not find out her husband had been shot until she arrived at the hospital. But her father-in-law and a close friend later testified that she had called them to say her husband had been shot and that she was on her way to the hospital.
"If that's true, the only way she would have known that is if she'd talked to the shooter," Wilson said. "For that reason, there was no way the prosecution was going to be nuzzling up to her. That's because they thought she was involved."
In a statement released Wednesday, lawyers Jennifer Little and Douglas Chalmers Jr. said they had been retained to counsel Sneiderman as a "victim" in Neuman's trial, but said they would have no further comment until after the verdict.
As for Neuman's defense, the jury had to be told someone else was responsible for this, Marietta defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant said.
"Because this was a clear-cut crime, Neuman had to allege that Sneiderman took advantage of his mental condition," Marietta defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant said. "It's all about shifting the blame."
Atlanta defense attorney Steven Berne said winning an insanity plea is extremely difficult because the burden is on the defense to prove it.
"The jury had to be told there was good reason why Neuman was insane," he said. "That's why it was important to contend Andrea had so much control over him that she started the whole process of him going insane."
Berne said it may be too early to know whether Sneiderman will ever be indicted. "The state could have called her a co-conspirator if they believed it," he said. "but if they didn't have enough evidence against her to prove it, they rightfully didn't charge her."
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