It took about an hour to get everybody into the courtroom. Hemy’s mother arrived. So too did Rusty’s parents, Donald and Marilyn Sneiderman, and brother Steven with his wife, Lisa. Andrea was not there, barred by the court.
At about 2:20 p.m. the lawyers took their seats and Hemy was brought in by the bailiff.
Judge Adams made his usual big entrance and warned everybody to keep their emotions in check or leave now. He ordered that the jurors be brought in. Solemn and grim-faced, they took their seats.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury I have been informed by the deputy that you have reached a verdict,” said Judge Adams. “Would the foreperson please stand.”
A woman stood in the jury box. “Madame Foreperson, have you and the others reached a verdict?”
“Yes,” she said in a clear voice.
“Is it unanimous and has it been signed by you and dated by you as the foreperson?”
“Yes.”
“Would you start at the top of the form—and this is what’s called ‘publish the verdict’ here in open court—read it in its entirety,” he said, adding with a drawn-out “pleeeease.” He then told her, “You may proceed.”
The jury had two counts to consider—murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
The forewoman began reading in a strong voice. “In the superior court of DeKalb County, State of Georgia, State of Georgia v. Hemy Neuman, defendant, indictment number 11CR1364-5, verdict form, jury verdict.”
Hemy sat at the defense table, showing no emotion as always, in a navy-blue sweater over a light-blue shirt.
“Count one, we the jury, find the defendant as to count one”—the forewoman paused, her voice faltering—“guilty beyond a reasonable doubt but mentally ill.”
Hemy pursed his lips, took his eyes away form the forewoman and stared down at the table, then slowly lifted his head up with his eyes closed. Rusty’s father buried his head in his hand and seemed to cry. His brother appeared stunned. Hemy’s mother looked down.
“Count two,” continued the forewoman of the use-of-gun charge. “We the jury find the defendant as to count two guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Hemy stared back toward the jury, no expression now. Then he turned forward and closed his eyes and seemed to be talking to himself, as if saying a prayer. His defense attorney Robert Rubin grabbed his shoulder to reassure him.
The judge said, “I will receive the verdict in open court as published by the jury,” and asked if the prosecution had any requests for the jury. It did not. But the defense asked that the jury be polled, with each panelist queried in open court.
Called by her jury number, the first juror—an older woman—stood.
The clerk asked, “Is this your verdict?”
“Yes.”
“Was it freely and voluntarily made by you?”
“Yes.”
“Is this still your verdict?”
“Yes.”
The clerk went through the entire panel, nine women, three men, some answering sadly, some with resignation, some emphatically, but all the same: guilty of murder but mentally ill.
The jury was dismissed, their work done. The judge allowed a brief break. Wasting no time, he moved on to sentencing.
* * *
This was the time for family members on both sides to speak out, pleading for condemnation or mercy, making the hearing as much about catharsis as legal argument. The first family member to speak was Rusty’s brother, Steven.
“I am here today,” he said from a podium, “to speak on behalf of my parents, Marilyn and Donald Sneiderman, my wife, Lisa, my daughter, Samantha, and, especially, Rusty’s children, Sophia and Ian,” he said, pointedly leaving out Andrea. “During our investigation and the trial, my mother has repeatedly asked me, ‘When is this about Rusty?’ Unfortunately, I have been forced to explain to her this trial was really not about him.”
As a lawyer, Steven said, he understood that. “But now it is important for you to know a little more about Rusty and why his murder and the subsequent loss of him from our lives is so devastating,” he said. “There have been so many lies told to this court about Rusty, even to the extent of the defense shamefully equating my brother’s life with that of this killer. So let’s set the record straight.”
Enumerating Rusty’s qualities, he said his brother was “a good provider,” “giving to others,” “loving, “a devoted son,” “a wonderful brother,” “a great father.” “All that love,” he said, “silenced forever, because of that man.” He pointed to Hemy but did not look at him.
In contrast, said Stephen, Hemy Neuman was a “man that left his family financially ruined while he vacationed with his lover on his company expense account.” Hemy “abandoned his family to destroy another one,” “subjected us all to this pathetic side show instead of accepting responsibility … even after admitting he shot and killed Rusty.”
The question, said Steven, was why did Rusty have to die to satisfy Hemy’s desires? “Was it just lust? Did he just have to have her and decided the rules of civilized society didn’t apply to him? Was it greed? Did he think he could just step into his shoes and take what was Rusty’s? Was it envy? Did he look at his own failures and shortcomings and simply could not tolerate what he saw in the mirror?” asked Steven. “It doesn’t matter—any reason he and his lawyers could conjure up is absolutely ludicrous.”
With emotion welling in his voice, Steven said, “He had no right to this! He had no right to anything my brother had built! Had no right to take Rusty from us, especially Sophia and Ian!… Every single day of our lives there will be a hole in our hearts and in our lives where Rusty should be. We all still reach for the phone to call him. We still expect to see him, Sophia, and Ian on Skype, especially on Sundays when we visit with my parents. Today, the pain of that void is almost unbearable.”
All the court could do was is make sure Hemy is “confined to prison for the remainder of his days, forced to confront the hurt and devastation he has caused to so many,” Steven said. “We ask you to show him the same mercy he showed Rusty and punish him in the only appropriate manner—life without the possibility of parole.”
Steven took his seat, replaced at the podium by a woman about whom much was said during the trial. Hemy’s mother, Rebecca Cohen, spoke only briefly. “Hemy has been a good son. I was always proud of him,” she said, then added, “Not proud of what he did now. It was a big mistake. I beg of you to have mercy [on] him. Give him the opportunity of parole. Thank you for the time you dedicated to this case. I appreciate it. Thank you.”
The last to speak was Hemy.
“Your Honor,” he began, his voice full of resignation. “I prepared this statement several weeks ago to express my sense of loss for the death of Rusty Sneiderman. I do not think that anyone feels that anybody won here—everybody lost. I hadn’t written this down but a lot of what Mr. Sneiderman said about Rusty is true. It is. He was a good man with so much ahead of him and I’m so, so, so sorry for their loss.” He punctuated each word so.
“This is a terrible tragedy,” he continued, “first of all, for Sophia and Ian, the Sneidermans—Rusty’s dad, his mom, brother, Andrea should not have had to bury him. They should not have had to undergo the pain, the anguish, the sorrow, the loss, and as Mr. Sneiderman just stated, it goes on and it will go on forever. The Greenbergs”—Andrea’s parents—“suffered the loss of a beloved son-in-law.
“It is also a tragedy for three other children, for Lee, Tom, and Addie,” he said, mentioning his son and daughters. “And countless family and friends who saw a person they loved, admired, and respected—who saw him arrested and shamed, charged and now convicted.
“I am so, so, so sorry. I can’t say it enough. I can’t say enough to all of you—to precious children, all five of them—to the Sneidermans, to the Greenbergs, my parents, the family friends and community at large—I am sorry from the deepest part of me, Your Honor.
“That’s all I have.”
He took a seat.
The judge, who had spent so much of the trial nudging and prodding and speeding the proceedings along, handed down a sentence in rapid-fire fashion.
“Mr. Neuman, would you stand with your lawyers, please.” Judge Adams drew a breath and then continued with barely a pause. “Mr. Neuman, earlier this afternoon a jury returned a verdict as to count one, guilty beyond a reasonable doubt but mentally ill, which was the murder count. As to count two they also find you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt as to possession of a firearm in commission of a crime.
“Obviously I have had the opportunity to sit through many, many trials throughout my career, and this appeared—at least based upon all the facts and evidence, and I’m not commenting on that per se, but for lack of a better term—a planned execution of this individual.
“And at least I could not hear any justification on what this gentlemen, Mr. Sneiderman, may have done to provoke this result. And I fully understand you have indicated today that you were sorry for the tragedy. But at least upon the finding of the jury, and everything I’ve heard, this situation was brought about by your hands. And as a result of you killing this gentleman, Mr. Sneiderman, you’re here in my courtroom and I have a legal responsibility to impose a sentence.
“And also I guess even during the course of the testimony—I think I heard testimony that you may have even attended the funeral of this gentlemen who you earlier shot and killed—and I fully understand you have apologized for the tragedy here in my court today, and I fully understand those words have been uttered, and they have been listened to, and the family members of Mr. Sneiderman will make a decision of whether or not to accept or reject those words that you uttered here today on March 15, approximately fifteen months after you took the life of Mr. Sneiderman.
“As a result of the finding of the jury and based upon all the facts and circumstances I’ve heard today, I’m going to sentence you to prison for life without parole. As to count two, I’m going to sentence you to five years in prison to run consecutively to count one.”
He reminded Hemy that he had the right to file an appeal, then said, “At this point in time I’m going to direct Deputy Moore and his assistants to take you in to custody.” He nodded to the deputy. “At this point in time, you may take him into custody and I will sign the sentence. Everyone else with the exception of lawyers remain seated.”
A guard handcuffed Hemy behind his back. The metallic click could be heard throughout the courtroom. Hemy glanced at his mother as he was led away.
* * *
Hemy was barely back in his holding cell when attention immediately shifted back to Andrea. Absent from the verdict and sentencing of the man who murdered her husband, Andrea responded in a statement from her lawyer.
“Andrea is grateful and relieved by the jury’s guilty verdict and sentence. Nothing can bring back her husband, but it is reassuring to her that, after all of the noise and distractions surrounding this case, some measure of justice has been done for Rusty.
“Rusty’s family misses and mourns him every single day. But today, at least, the family can be comforted by the fact that his killer will spend the rest of his days behind bars.
“Rusty was an amazing man and a wonderful husband and father. He is missed every day by so many. The world is worse off without him.
“This trial has been extremely difficult for Andrea and her family. They need time to grieve and time to heal. As such, Andrea has no plans to make any further public statement at this time. We respectfully ask that the public and the media respect this decision in the interest of the rest of the Sneiderman family.”
Others had plenty more to say. “The entire truth has not been presented,” Hemy’s attorney Doug Peters told reporters. “Hemy Neuman was as good of a man who ever walked this earth until he met Andrea Sneiderman … Andrea Sneiderman should be charged with murder in the first degree. I think she preyed upon him and used him to commit the crime.”
Rusty’s brother agreed. “We know she lied about her involvement with Neuman,” Steven Sneiderman said. “We will have no peace until everyone involved in Rusty’s death is brought to justice. It is clear to us that Andrea is covered in Rusty’s blood. And there aren’t enough rabbis in the world to wash that blood away.”
District Attorney Robert James had just won the biggest conviction of his career and all anyone wanted to talk about was the next possible prosecution.
“Guilty is guilty,” he told reporters. “Justice has been served here. I want to thank God that finally, after a year and a half or more, this family—a good family—is able to begin the process of healing.”
But he acknowledged that his office would now have to deal with the “thousand-pound pink gorilla in the corner,” as he called Andrea. “It’s something we’re looking at. I know it’s important to this family. It’s important to America. But as a prosecutor I have an obligation to follow the facts … and make a decision that seeks justice.”
Pressed on when he may make that decision, he said, “Stay tuned. When we know something, y’all will know.”