Archived News

Andrea Sneiderman

Nearly a month after a jury found Hemy Neuman guilty but mentally ill in the November 2010 killing of Russell “Rusty” Sneiderman, a grand jury has subpoenaed the video testimony of Sneiderman’s widow.

Andrea Sneiderman allegedly had an affair with Neuman while the two worked at GE Energy. Neuman was sentenced to life without parole for the Dunwoody killing.

The question of Andrea Sneiderman’s possible role in her husband’s death is the “1,000-pound pink gorilla in the corner,” said DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James during a news conference following the March 15 sentencing.

“It’s something that we have under review right now,” James told reporters. “Stay tuned.”

Steve Sneiderman, Rusty’s brother, said that his family suspected that Andrea Sneiderman had a part in his brother’s death.

“Andrea is covered in Rusty’s blood and there are not enough rabbis in the world to wash away those stains,” Steve Sneiderman said last month.

In a post-trial news conference, Doug Peters, one of Neuman’s attorneys, said, “The entire truth in this case has not been presented.

“Mr. Neuman was ill and manipulated by Andrea Sneiderman,” Peters said. “We are very hopeful that all of the evidence regarding her responsibility for the death of Rusty Sneiderman will also be presented in court on another day at another time.”

Atlanta attorney BJ Bernstein said the grand jury subpoena means prosecutors are “obviously looking at whether there’s anything to be done.”

“And they’re clearly going slow enough to figure out what’s there,” Bernstein said.

Prosecutors could use court transcripts but the trial was lengthy and transcripts take a while to produce, Bernstein said.

The video “is just a quicker way of getting exactly what [Andrea Sneiderman] said,” Bernstein said. “More than just the words, her manner of testifying gave an impression that [prosecutors] would want to capture by having that film.”

Bernstein said one of the charges prosecutors may be considering is perjury.

“Perjury requires that you knowingly and willingly make a false statement that is material to the issue or point in question,” Bernstein said. “Sometimes people can say something false in court, but it’s not material to the case. There could be some falsehoods that [Sneiderman] said that are perjury that may not be prosecutable.

“The other magic thing that you really don’t know is if someone else steps forward who has information because of the trial,” Bernstein said. “That could take it in a whole other direction.”

Bernstein said it is possible that prosecutors will not have enough evidence to bring charges against Sneiderman.

“They may not have enough now or they may not ever have enough, or a witness may pop up out of nowhere with some information or a tape,” Bernstein said. “It’s one big mystery we’re all waiting to see.”