Opening statements began on a steamy southern morning on August 5, 2013, the cicadas buzzing in the trees outside the DeKalb County Courthouse. The trial had the feel of an afterthought. The national media left the story to the locals, who still gave it major coverage with live-streaming testimony, blogging, and tweeting. DA Robert James handed off opening statements to a newly promoted deputy, Kellie Hill, though he sat in court throughout the trial.
The jury that had been selected would not be tasked with deciding whether Andrea Sneiderman should be held accountable for the cold-blooded murder of her husband, but for not telling the whole truth to police and at Hemy’s trial. She still faced decades in prison on the counts, which carried five-year penalties.
But the defense was emboldened. Thomas Clegg delivered a no-compromise opening statement signaling that this wouldn’t be a reasonable-doubt case. “She ain’t on trial for murder. No evidence suggests that she is,” Clegg told the jury. “Everything will be based on inference, speculation, and a hunch. There is no evidence she has done anything wrong. It’s a myth.” Andrea was so confident that she turned down a last-minute plea deal, reportedly one year in prison.
It was up to DeKalb Assistant District Attorney Hill to remind everybody that there was still unfinished business. In an opening statement that built in passion, she told jurors that Andrea had a “forbidden romance” with Hemy Neuman that “ended in the murder of her husband.”
“The evidence will show that she suspected Hemy Neuman immediately,” said Hill. “And the evidence will show, ladies and gentlemen, that she lied.” The lies, Hill claimed, “kept police from figuring out who shot her husband in cold blood outside her son’s daycare.” Near the end of the opening statement, Hill said that Andrea “took this very witness stand”—she smacked the wood railing—“and vowed to tell the truth. That is not what she did.”
Over the next six days, the prosecution laid out a meticulous case, alternating clips of Andrea’s courtroom testimony and police interviews with live witnesses. Each targeted statement came with a rebuke on the witness stand. Showing Andrea’s trial statements out of order and in sound-bite form stripped them of their emotional punch; jurors at Andrea’s trial didn’t experience the same surprise and shock of her slow build to anger and sarcasm.
But the lies piled up all the same, the state argued as it sought to prove the 13 counts against Andrea. Prosecutors offered what it called evidence she hindered the apprehension of a criminal by deleting text messages and concealing her relationship with Hemy. They argued that she covered up her knowledge her boss had killed Rusty, using as evidence, among other things, their phone calls around the time of the murder. She concealed material facts, the state argued, by lying to police about a romance with Hemy, introducing their travel records, emails and testimony from the Pulse bartender and others.
Prosecutors played back portions of her police interviews seeking to prove she made false statements by failing to tell investigators she suspected Hemy until the very end of the investigation. It alleged she also made false statements to Lt. Barnes about having no idea what happened to Rusty when she arrived at Dunwoody Prep, bringing into evidence her alleged statements she knew Rusty had been shot before anybody, the state claimed, had told her that. Prosecutors argued she was lying when she told investigators she had made it clear to Hemy to stop chasing after her, that claim, prosecutors alleged, undermined by their emails. And prosecutors presented evidence she perjured herself at Hemy’s trial by allegedly lying again about many of those same things on the witness stand.
As the prosecution built its case against Andrea, it injected drama into the trial, its marquee witness to present what the state would claim was the context of her alleged lies.
Impeccably dressed and accessorized, Shayna Citron walked to the witness stand in a black dress with plunging neckline and a silver necklace. Answering questions from Hill, Andrea’s former best friend recalled their pleasant life when they were two young moms with great husbands in suburban Atlanta: the book club meetings, the playdates, the school activities, dinners at each other’s homes, the baby showers as their children arrived.
Then came a lunch between Shayna and Andrea, a lunch like many others. Andrea was about to start her first full-time office job and wanted her friend’s advice on office attire. “She was asking if open-toed shoes were okay in workplace or if flat shoes better option,” said Citron.
* * *
Almost from the moment Andrea started at GE, Citron detected a change. A May 2010 dance recital in which Andrea performed—“Andrea is a very good dancer and always had been,” she noted—was followed by a tense and uncomfortable dinner where Citron was stunned at seeing how her best friend acted with Rusty. “It was at that dinner that I saw for the first time that they were going through a rough time.”
By September 1 things had gotten worse. When the women met at a restaurant for lunch, Andrea revealed that her boss had professed his love for her. This was the same anecdote that Citron testified about at the first trial, only now she could barely control her emotions on the witness stand.
“Did she tell you how she felt about her boss?” asked Hill.
Taking a moment to compose herself, Citron answered, “She said that maybe if she had not been married she’d be interested in him.”
“Did she answer the question that you asked, What’s going on with you and Rusty?”
Another pause, and Citron said, “There came a point in that conversation when I said, ‘Are things that bad? Are you and Rusty going to get a divorce?’ I couldn’t even believe I was saying that because they had been such a good team. She said to me that she would never divorce Rusty.”
This, Andrea told her, despite years of issues with him. “We started talking about how everything in their married life had always been about Rusty, whatever job he had, whatever problems were going on in his job, whatever the situation was with the boss or co-worker was, there was always something. It was always all about him.”
Then she revealed something that shocked Citron. “She said that her parents never wanted her to marry Rusty.”
“You had never heard that before?”
Tearing up, she said, “I had never heard that before.”
“Did her parents tell her why?”
“Again because everything was all about him, and she had previously had a relationship with some musician and they almost would have rather had her marry him because he was more supportive of her.”
The lunch ended on a traumatic note for Citron. “I thought, Oh, my God, Andrea has checked out of this marriage,” she testified. Citron’s voice choked, her face contorted with emotion. “When she was speaking about Rusty her eyes were dark and cold. When she was speaking about her boss—I did not know his name at that point—her eyes were sparkling.”
Citron sniffled and reached for a tissue and dabbed her left eye.
Andrea watched her former friend intently but betrayed no reaction, her expression stony.
Court ended for the day before Citron finished. She returned the next morning, this time in a bright-red dress and a strand of pearls, with more accounts of conversations in which Andrea spoke of marital problems. The latest was an argument in front of the children, the first time this had happened, Andrea told Shayna. “She was particularly upset.”
As she testified, Citron seemed to struggle to remain composed, finally breaking into tears when she spoke of a Halloween costume party. Andrea and Sophia dressed as mommy-and-daughter sock-hop girls in poodle skirts and bobbed hair.
“She looked amazing,” Citron said. “She looked the happiest I had seen her in a long time, absolutely radiant and glowing. Even her complexion was just absolutely gorgeous.”
Rusty was dressed as Fred from Scooby-Doo and Ian as Scooby. Rusty was “just wiped wiped out,” Citron said.
“Did he look as happy as the defendant looked?” asked Hill.
“No,” said Citron.
The party, the prosecution would later note, took place the same week that Hemy Neuman left his wife and started telling people he was sleeping with a younger woman.
On cross-examination, Citron turned steely, every attempt by J. Thomas Morgan to undercut her credibility met with terse and combative replies. There would be no more tears. Her demeanor would later be likened by the defense as a bad scene from the Real Housewives of Atlanta, and witnesses called by the defense would rebut her. Andrea’s mother insisted her daughter and son-in-law had a strong, happy bond. Ben Nadler, who went to the same synagogue as the Sneidermans, said, “There was this little sparkle in her eye when she was talking about him and you could just really hear the pride.” But Shayna Citron never wavered: There was trouble in the Sneiderman marriage, the kind of trouble that the prosecution said laid the groundwork for lies.
* * *
Testimony ended August 15 with Andrea telling the judge that she would not take the stand in her own defense, clearing the way for summations. After spending much of the trial as a second-chair lawyer, handling the occasional witness, DA Robert James—last seen explaining himself—was back in form. “You’re a liar!” he said directly at Andrea during closing arguments as she looked away. “She’s a manipulator. She’s a deceiver,” he told the jury. “If this was the street, they’d say she’s got game.”
Clegg wrapped up the defense case with the same stance as opening statements, conceding nothing. Andrea, he said, was a “victim” who had done absolutely nothing wrong. The prosecution’s case amounted to a “well-edited TV show” that lacked any real evidence. “Part of that woman’s heart, part of that woman’s soul was ripped apart and she will never get that back,” he said. “The state of Georgia is doing all it can to take away the rest of her heart, the rest of her soul.” Asking, “What on earth are we doing here,” Clegg said of the prosecution, “They blew it, folks. They blew it totally. They blew it completely.”
The jury retired that Friday to begin deliberations, returned after a weekend break, and by lunchtime Monday had a verdict. Judge Adams brought the jury into the courtroom and explained to the forewoman how to read the read the verdict, starting at the top of the form and reading it in its entirety into the record.
“You may proceed,” he told her.
Sitting between Morgan and Clegg at the defense table, Andrea cast her eyes down, shooting nervous glances in the forewoman’s direction.
“We the jury find the defendant Andrea Sneiderman, count one, hindering the apprehension of a criminal,” she began, “guilty.”
Andrea’s head dropped and she stared at the table.
“Count two,” continued the forewoman in a strong voice, “concealment of material facts: guilty.”
Andrea now breathed more heavily.
“Count three, false statement, guilty.”
On it went: guilty on a total of nine counts, not guilty on four. The form was shown the prosecution and the defense for their approval. The jury was polled and each panelist affirmed the decision.
* * *
As the trial moved to sentencing the next day, the extent of Andrea Sneiderman’s fall came into stark relief. Once a promising young manager at a major corporation, with a successful husband, a beautiful big house, and an active social life in one of Atlanta’s premier suburbs, Andrea was now led into court by a bailiff, not through the front door, but from the prisoner’s entrance, paraded in front of the pool camera. Gone were the smart sweaters and blouses and skirts. She wore an orange jumpsuit with DEKALB COUNTY JAIL stenciled on the back.
It was the same uniform that Hemy wore on his first court date.
She had on no makeup. Her hair was pushed back behind her ears. She took her seat at the defense table, embraced Clegg, and faced her fate.
Sentencing meant victim impact statements. Steven Sneiderman, whose wrongful death lawsuit against Andrea was still pressing on, lambasted her “pathetic narcissism” and called her a “common criminal” who despite the lack of a murder charge still should be blamed for Rusty’s murder. “Without her lies and betrayal,” Steven said, “Rusty would still be here with his children.” Andrea’s friends came to her defense, imploring the judge for mercy for the sake of Ian and Sophia. As Andrea wept, Elizabeth Stansbury quoted Ian as telling her, “Miss Elizabeth, I can’t see my mommy, but she’s not dead.”
In arguments before the judge, DA James sought twenty years in prison; Clegg asked for five years’ probation.
Finally it was left for Andrea Sneiderman to speak for herself. She walked up to the witness stand. Twice she braced herself with her left hand as she went up the two steps, then turned and raised her right hand to take the oath. Her mouth was downturned. Her voice choked as she spelled her last name for the record.
“Mrs. Sneiderman,” the judge began, “you have been found guilty of various charges by a jury and you do have a right to make a statement on your behalf before a sentence is imposed.” He also told her she had a right to appeal. “At this point in time you are more than welcome to make a statement, you don’t have to make a statement, it is completely up to you. Would you like to make a statement to me at this point in time?”
“I would,” she said.
“You may proceed.”
She folded her hands in front of her and read off a paper.
“Your Honor, I’m here to ask for your leniency for the sake of my children,” she said in a shaky voice. “I am going to try to find the words to describe what it’s been like—an indescribable and unimaginable three years.
“I met Rusty when I was eighteen. We fell in love and began our futures together. After having children I worked from home, and GE was my first job back in an office environment. It was an exciting and terrifying time for me. I didn’t know what to expect. At first I thought my boss, Mr. Neuman, was a nice guy taking an interest in me as his new employee. He was showing and teaching me the business, and I was appreciative. I believed he controlled my career and I let him therefore control my time and too much of my life.
“I wanted to do well and I thought that being nice to him was the answer. One of my greatest regrets will always be allowing this predator into my life or not being stronger for not dispelling his advances sooner.”
She sniffled and continued. “I viewed Mr. Neuman as a mentor, a kind and helpful man, a father of three. I never thought Mr. Neuman was capable of this murder. As time went on our friendship grew, so too did my reliance on him at work. The line of appropriate conduct clearly blurred. In hindsight I should have told Rusty about his advances. I should have quit my job and filed a report with HR and hid from Mr. Neuman. There are so many reasons that I didn’t. Yes, I was flattered by what seemed like harmless attention. I thought I could handle him. I thought he was just a man being a man, and the things that I did like introducing him to Rusty and sending him pictures of our happy family—they all backfired.
“I didn’t know this mild-mannered executive was capable of killing anyone. In hindsight knowing now that Mr. Neuman is a murderer, I wish I would have immediately opened my GE emails and gone through them as this court has done for signs of what can now be seen as an obsession with me.
“What I remembered as isolated inappropriate and insignificant comments tell a different story when read in chronological order and with the knowledge that Mr. Neuman killed my husband. I am shamed by and apologize for my emails. I regret sharing anything personal with this man; allowing him to get too close to me on a personal level was a complete betrayal as I’ve never shared my personal feelings with any man other than Rusty.
“But I want to be clear. There was no physical romance between Mr. Neuman and me. No sex. No kissing. Nothing other than putting my head on his shoulder to cry and holding his hand on one occasion to comfort him. I was never leaving my true love, Rusty, and our children, and I made that clear. Especially in October of 2010.
“After November 18, 2010, when Mr. Neuman killed Rusty, I stopped sleeping, I stopped eating, my life was misery without Rusty and if not for my children I wanted to die. I felt those exact same feelings when visiting Rusty’s grave site with Sophia and Ian last week for the first time in a year.”
Andrea struggled now to speak, her voice choking with emotion.
“Despite my state of mind following the murder, I did nothing to obstruct justice in any way. I gave the police names, passwords, access to all of my personal and GE computers and phone information,” she continued. “When asked on November 19, 2010, if I knew anyone interested in breaking up my family, I said yes, and immediately gave Mr. Neuman’s name to the police. At the time I felt great apprehension about giving the name of my boss, someone who I thought was a friend, to the police as a murder suspect. But I was asked a question and I answered it truthfully.
“I later took the stand at Mr. Neuman’s murder trial because I wanted to prove that he was sane. I did not prepare for my testimony. I didn’t review any emails. And I ignored all of the people who told me not to testify.”
Staring at James, anger in her face, she said, “I was shocked when the prosecution began attacking me and making me the focal point of Mr. Neuman’s trial. Without an attorney to object to the inappropriate and irrelevant questioning, I fought back and I tried to defend myself.”
She turned a page and then looked at the judge. “I’m embarrassed when I watch the tape of my testimony and I feel it does not represent who I am.
“Hemy Neuman has already robbed my children of their father and his love,” she continued, breaking down. “Rusty is no longer here to play baseball with Ian or to carry Sophia on his shoulders. He will never have the chance to raise his children. He should be at Ian’s bar mitzvah.”
She coughed and sniffled. “He should be there to walk Sophia down the aisle. He should be there the day they graduate from high school and college. He will never get to sit at the head of the Passover table again, or with his grandchildren. He deserved to have that. There is an entire history that’s been erased by Mr. Neuman.
“Sophia and Ian desperately need me to help fill that role for them. They have already suffered so much. Since last August, they’ve had no parent to join them at school events, to take them to the playground, or to go have an ice cream all because the state wrongly charged me with a murder that I had nothing to do with and would do anything to undo.”
Andrea began to cry. “Sophia and Ian have been punished enough. Please, let me go home to my kids. Mr. Neuman changed my children’s lives forever by killing their father. Please don’t make them live without their mother. Thank you.”
The judge said, “Thank you,” and looked toward the lawyer tables. “Mr. James, anything?”
“No, sir,” said the DA.
“Mr. Clegg, anything else?”
“No, sir,” said Andrea’s attorney.
“You may come down, ma’am.”
She braced herself again as she walked down the steps and back to the defense table.
* * *
After a recess, the bailiff signaled that the judge was ready to give a sentence. Judge Adams burst into the courtroom and slammed the door behind him. Family and friends filled the room. Rusty’s brother and sister-in-law were there, as were her parents. Andrea’s parents and a number of friends sat on the other side of the courtroom.
“Hi, good morning again, you may be seated,” the judge said. “As I indicated, the court will not tolerate any outbursts one way or the other. If you do not feel as if you can control your emotions, you may want to step outside. This is zero tolerance. I’ll give you a moment to remove yourselves, if you wish. You can stay if you wish, but you don’t have to.”
After reviewing papers in front of him, the judge said, “Mrs. Sneiderman, would you stand, please, with your lawyers.” She and three lawyers stood. “Mrs. Sneiderman, a jury has returned verdicts … and as a result of the jury verdicts, I have a responsibility to impose a sentence . I’ve listened to all the lawyers and the parties and the witnesses throughout the day and also reviewed the law as it exists in Georgia, and I will impose the following sentence at this time.”
He paused.
“As to count one,” he said, “I will sentence you to five years. As to count two, five years. As to count three, five years. As to count six, five years. As to count eight, five years.”
It kept going. Five years for each guilty count. But at the end he said, “I will give you credit for the time you have been in custody and also the time you have served under house arrest.” He also did not run the terms back-to-back. “This will be five years to serve on each count, I will render them concurrently. I’m not going to run them consecutively. I’m going to run them concurrently.”
He looked at Andrea. “Any questions, ma’am?” Andrea, standing stone-faced, had none. “At this point in time, I will have you taken into custody.”
Clegg tried to speak, but the judge interrupted him. “Take her into custody. Step out of the way, lawyers, do not obstruct. This woman will be taken into custody.” She was handcuffed behind her back and led out of the courtroom past the pool camera.
“Anything else?” the judge asked. “All right, the court is in recess!” Judge Adams banged the gavel and strode to his door. He was a step outside his courtroom with his back to everybody before the bailiff could finish shouting, “All rise.”