A DeKalb County grand jury has indicted Andrea Sneiderman, widow of slain Dunwoody businessman Rusty Sneiderman, on charges of murder, racketeering, insurance fraud and perjury related to her husband’s death.
DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James said Andrea Sneiderman was arrested by Putnam County Sheriff’s Deputies on Aug. 2 at her lake house near Eatonton after the grand jury issued its indictment. During a press conference at the DeKalb County Courthouse, James said she was booked into the DeKalb jail that afternoon.
Hemy Neuman was convicted earlier this year of shooting Rusty Sneiderman, a 36-year-old businessman and father, in the parking lot of his son’s day care center in Dunwoody. On March 15, Neuman was found guilty but mentally ill and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Reporter Newspapers broadcast partner CBS Atlanta obtained a statement from Sneiderman’s attorneys, Former DeKalb County District Attorney J.Tom Morgan, former DeKalb County Chief Assistant District Attorney John Petrey and Douglas Chalmers Jr.
“We categorically deny each and every one of the charges that were filed against Andrea today,” Morgan said in the statement. “We are looking forward to a vigorous and complete defense to ensure that Andrea is fully exonerated of these false accusations. We are confident that, when an unbiased jury hears the facts of this case, it will be clear that Andrea is innocent.”
The eight-count indictment claims Sneiderman and Neuman were having an affair and “developed and carried out a plan to murder Rusty Sneiderman, with the intent of acquiring property, money and life insurance proceeds.”
The indictment says the pair wanted to collect on Rusty Sneiderman’s life insurance, which was worth $2 million, as well as more than $960,000 he had in individual and joint bank accounts with Andrea Sneiderman.
“Neuman and Andrea Sneiderman conspired together to murder Rusty Sneiderman so that they could enjoy a life together, eliminate Neuman’s debt problems, and fully benefit from the assets the Sneidermans had acquired as well as the proceeds of Rusty Sneiderman’s life insurance policies,” the indictment states.
The indictment also accuses Andrea Sneiderman of a criminal attempt to commit murder, saying she provided Neuman with her husband’s schedule on the days leading up to his death. She is also charged with malice murder as a party to the crime.
The grand jury also charged her with racketeering, perjury and making false statements, claiming she mislead police by telling them she was not having an affair with Neuman and lied under oath, among other things.
James said her arraignment could be expected in about a month. If Andrea Sneiderman pleads not guilty, the case will go to trial and James said he and his chief assistant would prosecute the case themselves, as they did Neuman.
“It’s an important case to us and we tried the companion case last time. I don’t see any need to change a formula that worked last time,” James said, referring to Neuman’s guilty verdict.
The case would likely be judged by DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Gregory A. Adams, who also presided over the Neuman trial, James said.
During Neuman’s trial, both James and Neuman’s defense attorneys said they believed Andrea Sneiderman was involved in the murder.
Andrea Sneiderman has denied any connection to her husband’s death and rejected claims that she was romantically involved with Neuman when she testified at his trial.
The district attorney’s office has been investigating Andrea Sneiderman since the conclusion of Neuman’s trial in March, James said.
“I’m confident in our case. If I weren’t confident in our case, I wouldn’t have put a case before the grand jury,” James said. “We’re going to put our best foot forward, put all the facts and evidence out there, and at the end of the day it’s going to be up to a jury to make a decision.”
– Associate Editor/Digital Content Manager Dan Whisenhunt contributed to this article.