Hemy Neuman Trial - Prosecutors Rest Their Case

After six days of testimony, prosecutors rested their case in the murder trial of Hemy Neuman.

The state presented more than 141 pieces of evidence and about 80 witnesses and experts in making its case against Neuman, a former GE Energy executive who is accused of gunning down a Dunwoody businessman in front of a Dunwoody day care center in Nov. 2010.

The case continues to have an almost soap-opera quality, with allegations from both the prosecution and defense that the Andrea Sneiderman, the widow of 36-year-old Rusty Sneiderman, was having an affair with Neuman, who was her boss.

The prosecution rested Tuesday afternoon, after spending much of the day not only tracking Neuman's movements, but also the number of times he exchanged calls or text messages with the widow.

On the morning of the homicide, FBI experts say that Neuman's cell phone was in the Dunwoody area before ending up back at the GE Energy offices. Neuman initially told police that he was at work that day.

Experts also testified that Neuman and Andrea Sneiderman used their phones to communicate with each other twice as often as the Sneidermans texted or texted each other. Neuman and the widow texted or called each other 1,426 times during the period reviewed by an FBI expert. During that same time, Andrea called or texted her husband about 882 times.

Prosecutors have also played a five-hour video showing Neuman being questioned by Dunwoody Police on Jan. 4, 2011, just before they arrested him.

In it detectives cajoled Neuman in an effort to get him to talk about the killing. One officer asked Neuman how can he live with himself -- "How are the nightmares?" -- and asked him if he committed the crime because he wanted another man's wife.

Neuman has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, and his lawyers claim he suffered from delusions at the time of the killing.

Through the interview, the jurors heard Neuman speak for the first time, and tell the detectives, "I did not pull the trigger on the gun that killed Rusty Sneiderman."

Andrea Sneiderman spent about six hours on the stand last week, where she denied any romantic involvement with Neuman, at times describing him as a former friend who turned into a stalker.

She was barred from the courthouse Friday morning after complaints from prosecutors that she was violating the judge’s orders by interacting with witnesses in front of jurors.

A motion is set to be heard Wednesday morning to debate whether Andrea Sneiderman's friend, Shayna Citron, can be called back to the stand. Courtroom observers say that Citron is the woman that Sneiderman hugged in front of jurors. She is also apparently the person who the widow scolded for her testimony by saying, "We're not friends any more."

Citron testified that Sneiderman called her the morning of the shooting and told her that Rusty was shot, before Andrea claims to have known what happened to her husband.

Phone records of that morning show that Neuman called Andrea 9 times right after Rusty Sneiderman was shot.

Citron told the court last week that she thought Andrea Sneiderman and Neuman were having an affair, and that she didn't believe her friend when Andrea denied it.

So far, the defense has rarely challenged any part of the prosecution’s case.

Defense attorney Doug Peters told the jury during his opening remarks that this case isn't about what happened, but why it happened. The defense will begin Wednesday to build its argument that Neuman was insane at the time of the killing.

Court resumes at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

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