GUILTY GA - Rusty Sneiderman shot to death at Dunwoody preschool, 18 Nov 2010 #2

[ChickenPants]

Let's be very clear, HN was found "Guilty but Mentally Ill" -- that is a HUGE difference between being found "insane."

The prosecutors didn't call HN's wife because a wife cannot be compelled to testify against her husband in a criminal matter. At the time of the trial, she was only separated from HN, not divorced. She waited until after the trial to finalize the divorce. That was probably done by design.

It is my understanding that Ariela Neuman did not want to testify. If I had to guess, she probably wanted to avoid the stress from that given everything else that happened. And, she probably figured they had enough evidence to convict him without her testimony.

Thanks, but I had read that she did not feel compelled to, but WANTED to testify. That she was disappointed not to receive a subpoena. This was in reference to her attorney bringing to the attention of LE all that Ariel (ex-wife) knew about the affair and etc. The attorney said she wanted to testify. And that she is willing and wanting to testify in the AS trial as well.

Thanks so much for all of your insight and explanations of Georgia law.

 

[ChickenPants]

This is a very interesting article that discusses the part Ariel (ex-wife of Hemy) and her attorney played in the investigation of HN. Apparently AS was very fixated on Rusty's wallet. ?

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/dunwoody-day-care-murder-trial-testimony-reinforce/nQSDS/

 

[dragonfly]

Excellant article, ChickenPants!
I take away how important these three women...Ariel Newman, Ester Panich and Lisa Sneiderman (Rusty's sister-in-law) were in their efforts to share and investigate on their own the relationship of AS and HM and how that relationship set the framework for Rusty's murder. Without their efforts AS could have walked out of the courtroom swinging both arms and whistling a tune, never to be heard from again.

 

[SpeakerDave]

Thanks, but I had read that she did not feel compelled to, but WANTED to testify. That she was disappointed not to receive a subpoena. This was in reference to her attorney bringing to the attention of LE all that Ariel (ex-wife) knew about the affair and etc. The attorney said she wanted to testify. And that she is willing and wanting to testify in the AS trial as well.

Thanks so much for all of your insight and explanations of Georgia law.

I have had lunch with Esther Panitch. I don't think Ariela wanted to testify. I do think they said the Dunwoody PD refused email evidence. Try to link us to an article regarding Ariela's willingness to testify. I'd like to see that.

 

[seattlechiquita]

AFAIK , as a friend posting here, there is not a verification process. Only IMHO for lawyers. Thanks for sharing with us, and welcome again!

There is a verification as insider/local to the case as well.

We love our insiders so welcome to rustysfriend :woohoo:

 

[ChickenPants]

I have had lunch with Esther Panitch. I don't think Ariela wanted to testify. I do think they said the Dunwoody PD refused email evidence. Try to link us to an article regarding Ariela's willingness to testify. I'd like to see that.

I know I read it somewhere, it didn't just appear in my mind...lol, I will try to find an article.

 

[ChickenPants]

Here's the article:

http://dunwoody.11alive.com/news/news/107750-hemy-neumans-family-relieved-his-conviction

Ariela Neuman actually volunteered to testify against her husband during his trial, but the state turned her down, Panitch said.[/B

Interesting article.

 

[SpeakerDave]

Here's the article:

http://dunwoody.11alive.com/news/news/107750-hemy-neumans-family-relieved-his-conviction

Ariela Neuman actually volunteered to testify against her husband during his trial, but the state turned her down, Panitch said.[/B

Interesting article.

Hmmmm...there you have it. The DA didn't think they needed her and her lawyer wanted to protect her anyway.

 

[ChickenPants]

If AS really co-conspired with HN to have her husband killed, and there was a plan, then I don't understand why they didn't get rid of any electronic or other evidence of their "special" relationship. As it is, AS purportedly deleted over 1,000 messages after the murder...?

If I was prosecuting this without the hard evidence, I'd use that against her and ask why she was in such a hurry to get ahold of her computer and start deleting things. That in itself is an admission of guilt about something.

If she wants to come clean now about the affair and how she lied in testimony, how is she going to be able to do that without getting on the witness stand and getting slaughtered by prosecutors saying it went further than that all the way to the death of her husband?

You're an attorney, Dave. What would you use for defense strategy?

 

[noor]

Hmmmm...there you have it. The DA didn't think they needed her and her lawyer wanted to protect her anyway.

SpeakerDave, what is your opinion about Andrea lying on the witness stand about her affair with Hemy?
What will the consequences be?

What about the fact that she told 3 people that Rusty was shot, she could not have know that before she went to the hospital, because no one told her.

What will the defense do with this?

Will her testimony be shown in court during her trial?

Thank you!

 

[rustyfriend]

SpeakerDave, do you know whether the judge in Andrea's upcoming trial can instruct the jury to draw an adverse inference from the fact that Andrea deleted texts or destroyed emails? If he can, how does that interplay with the reasonable doubt standard?

In simple terms, can the jury assume that the deleted texts/emails are incriminating, or do they have to disregard the fact that AS deleted them?

 

[SpeakerDave]

SpeakerDave, do you know whether the judge in Andrea's upcoming trial can instruct the jury to draw an adverse inference from the fact that Andrea deleted texts or destroyed emails? If he can, how does that interplay with the reasonable doubt standard?

In simple terms, can the jury assume that the deleted texts/emails are incriminating, or do they have to disregard the fact that AS deleted them?

First - ChickenPants and Noor, you asked good questions, and the answers will be part of a long comprehensive blog post on how the Defense may try to tackle some of the tough evidence. I'll get to that as soon as I can.

As for the question quoted above, the Judge will not instruct the Jury to draw a particular inference one way or another. That would likely be grounds for a mistrial because a Judge cannot tell the Jury how to interpret evidence in a criminal trial, in general. However, the job of telling the Jury what inferences they should draw is a job for the attorneys. The prosecutor and defense will most certainly ask the jury to draw a lot of inferences in this case - just like they always do.

 

[ChickenPants]

First - ChickenPants and Noor, you asked good questions, and the answers will be part of a long comprehensive blog post on how the Defense may try to tackle some of the tough evidence. I'll get to that as soon as I can.

As for the question quoted above, the Judge will not instruct the Jury to draw a particular inference one way or another. That would likely be grounds for a mistrial because a Judge cannot tell the Jury how to interpret evidence in a criminal trial, in general. However, the job of telling the Jury what inferences they should draw is a job for the attorneys. The prosecutor and defense will most certainly ask the jury to draw a lot of inferences in this case - just like they always do.

What great answers.

I'll bet that both sides will be piling on the objections toward either who attempt to draw any inferences from evidence (especially deleted electronic messages). Can't the defense ask for a stipulation ordering the jury to not consider this particular "lack of evidence" as - evidence?

What puzzles me also is I have heard that even when e-mails and texts are deleted, they can be retrieved off of a person's hard drive. I don't know about phones. But LE has special units just for tackling these problems. So why can't they retrieve some or all of those deleted messages?

 

[ChickenPants]

I have been searching (unsuccessfully) all over for a timeline of the phone calls or texts between HN and AS after the murders. Does anybody know this information?

http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/17865410/wife-of-dunwoody-murder-suspect-seeks-separation

This article states that a lot of communication went on between them before, up to and following the murder.

What I am trying to determine is the possibility that right after the murder he called her, and that's how she knew Rusty had been shot before the day care center called.

The amount of calls and how they were timed out - for instance, if they suddenly spiked in frequency just before the murder - could also be a road map to discerning if she was in on the planning.

I also wonder if she had any discussion with Hemy that he was the "intruder" Rusty found on the property prior to the murder. Did she call and ask him if he was there, I wonder? If she did, and he admitted, that would show that she knew he had an inclination, if not an actual intent, to do something.

Just my thoughts.

 

[ChickenPants]

This is another brief but interesting article. I hadn't noticed that prosecutor's theory is that HN murdered Rusty only after AS ended their affair. ? Comments, anyone?

http://www.examiner.com/article/hem...r-disorder-prosecution-mayo-clinic-contradict

 

[ChickenPants]

Info on the text messages:

http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/19272345/dekalb-da-seeks-life-without-parole-for-andrea-sneiderman

....But apparently crucial evidence was not collected at the time of the crime.

Prosecutors said investigators didn't act fast enough to secure thousands of text messages and e-mails between the killer and Andrea before the murder.

(snipped by me)

OK I will shut up now, lol.

 

[AbbieNormal]

I have been searching (unsuccessfully) all over for a timeline of the phone calls or texts between HN and AS after the murders. Does anybody know this information?

http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/17865410/wife-of-dunwoody-murder-suspect-seeks-separation

This article states that a lot of communication went on between them before, up to and following the murder.

What I am trying to determine is the possibility that right after the murder he called her, and that's how she knew Rusty had been shot before the day care center called.

The amount of calls and how they were timed out - for instance, if they suddenly spiked in frequency just before the murder - could also be a road map to discerning if she was in on the planning.

I also wonder if she had any discussion with Hemy that he was the "intruder" Rusty found on the property prior to the murder. Did she call and ask him if he was there, I wonder? If she did, and he admitted, that would show that she knew he had an inclination, if not an actual intent, to do something.

Just my thoughts.

Of course she knew. JMO.

abbie

 

[ChickenPants]

Of course she knew. JMO.

abbie

I know she knew. I am just wondering when she knew and how much.

And the other thing, Abby...was she in on Hemy's other foiled attempt? Apparently he had not bought a gun yet. I have to admit that although these things were planned, there seems to be an element of insanity in the ways he carried them out. Especially killing Rusty in broad daylight at a peak traffic time at the day care center. It's almost self-destructive, IMO.

IMO Andrea treated Hemy like a child. In her testimony she stated she called him a "silly boy"... can't you really picture him pouring his heart out to her and she patting him (or as she testified, "holding each other's hands", and saying, "oh poor baby, now you're just being silly." So she tells him she feels guilty about "betraying" Rusty and that they have to stop. But she continues to lead him on, dangling herself like a carrot. If she wasn't involved in the actual planning, I can see that she would just distance herself and let him do whatever because if he carried this out, she would actually be rid of the husband she's tired of and the silly boy who is being a nuisance. She can go on as the wronged (and self-righteous) widow and have all of the money, attention and sympathy for herself.

She claims she was being stalked and harassed. She could have always asked for a transfer to another department.

 

[AbbieNormal]

I know she knew. I am just wondering when she knew and how much.

And the other thing, Abby...was she in on Hemy's other foiled attempt? Apparently he had not bought a gun yet. I have to admit that although these things were planned, there seems to be an element of insanity in the ways he carried them out. Especially killing Rusty in broad daylight at a peak traffic time at the day care center. It's almost self-destructive, IMO.

IMO Andrea treated Hemy like a child. In her testimony she stated she called him a "silly boy"... can't you really picture him pouring his heart out to her and she patting him (or as she testified, "holding each other's hands", and saying, "oh poor baby, now you're just being silly." So she tells him she feels guilty about "betraying" Rusty and that they have to stop. But she continues to lead him on, dangling herself like a carrot. If she wasn't involved in the actual planning, I can see that she would just distance herself and let him do whatever because if he carried this out, she would actually be rid of the husband she's tired of and the silly boy who is being a nuisance. She can go on as the wronged (and self-righteous) widow and have all of the money, attention and sympathy for herself.

She claims she was being stalked and harassed. She could have always asked for a transfer to another department.

People being stalked and harassed do not trade some 1000+ emails with their stalker. Or any of the other things she did...sharing rooms, dirty dancing, kissing, embracing etc. So she is FOS claiming that.

I do believe she was in on the foiled attempt- after all did she not provide Hemy w/ Rustys schedule? What possible reason would she have to provide her stalking boss the schedule of her husband????? OMG just so freaking unbelieveable.

Whether Hemy had money or not was no concern of hers- she planned to have what they had in the bank plus her insurance $$ from Rusty's death
and would have been doing quite nicely.

Andrea, explain to those two kids you purport to love so much why you had your "secret" (NOT) lover kill their daddy.

She has an "I am better than you" type attitude, IMO. Narcissism- definately!!! She lies and expect people w/ common sense to believe her crap...just like Casey Anthony did.

I feel for Rusty's family, first this trial and now next year, another one. Plus dealing with the loss of Rusty. And those poor kids.

I am wondering if the friends she had are sticking by her, or are they dropping away? I can't even imagine wanting to be a friend of hers, judging from the personality that shone through while she was testifying at Hemy's trial. With friends like that who needs enemies? She would take anyone and anything down to keep from having to go to jail for her part in her husbands death. Her friends better watch out!


Abbie-:moo:

eta- IMO anybody who kills another human being has SOME form of cray-cray going on. Even if just for the time surrounding the killing and maybe a little while afterwards. (Not IMO serial killers, who are cray-cray all the time) Doesn't mean they are INSANE or even BIPOLAR. Is there such thing as temporary insanity? Cos I have never heard of TEMPORARY MENTALLY ILL. Jus wondering.

 

[dragonfly]

This is another brief but interesting article. I hadn't noticed that prosecutor's theory is that HN murdered Rusty only after AS ended their affair. ? Comments, anyone?

http://www.examiner.com/article/hem...r-disorder-prosecution-mayo-clinic-contradict

ChickenPants, this is the first time I heard this theory put out there.
IMO I don't think this was the case. AS continued to communicate with HN she still received his Itune love song and told no one. She still wanted to have a meeting with him when she came back from Florida. Those two examples come to mind...maybe there are more.
I am sure after Rusty was murdered there was a cooling off period but I don't think there was break until HN was arrested...then it was "everyman for himself (herself)"