The indictment of Hemy Zvi Neuman comes Tuesday morning by a DeKalb County Grand Jury. The two charges were malice of murder and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony. A probable cause hearing was cancelled since the evidence was strong enough for an indictment. Had there been a hearing, the question of motive would have come up. This didn’t happen.
Slowly but surely a perspective of the Rusty Sneiderman murder is emerging. But you have to read the tea leaves like a skilled priest of old. High profile attorneys toss you tiny biscuits of data. DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James said: “I don’t comment on evidence, but what I can tell you is there was enough evidence for the grand jury to return an indictment at 9 A.M.”
Perhaps more interesting (but not more important) is a written statement of Andrea Sneiderman released Tuesday via email by her brother. This may be the only thing people read in two new articles released by the East Cobb Patch and the Atlanta Journal Constitution. This is because the lawyers only wish is to smooth over stormy waters. But in Andrea’s statement we scrutinize for hidden elements that will clue us in to the ‘real situation.’
“The murder of my husband, Rusty Sneiderman, has been devastating to me and our families. I was thankful and relieved when the police made an arrest but I was shocked to learn that the man charged with the murder was my former boss, a person who we thought was a friend of our family.”
She continues: “I have been assured by the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office that Mr. Neuman is Rusty’s killer and that they will do everything in their power to bring him to justice. My family and I are cooperating in any way we can to assist them in their efforts.” A public statement, guarded words, but slightly revelatory nonetheless.
The implication is she knew nothing of it. Andrea wasn’t privy to Hemy’s plot and the carrying out of his scheme. This only widens the mystery of motive. Did Hemy have some personal dealings with Rusty, that Andrea didn’t know about? Neuman seems like a cool cucumber, so something must have royally ticked him off? What was it?
In my afternoon reverie, I see Rusty making a simple statement to Hemy, perhaps at a company picnic, perhaps at dinner for some public function, that so enrages him, he decides to forge a plot to do this thing. I haven’t wanted to say it, so far, but could religion be a reason? Could an implied notion of anti-Semitism (an off-hand comment) factor in here somehow?
If romance is eliminated, and money is discarded, not much else is left to forge a possible motive from. I concur with a statement of Hemy’s attorney, but it tends to only magnify the ‘dialectical dilemma’ of Neuman’s actions. That is, a duality exists between his perceived public image and the allegations of what he did in a Dunwoody daycare school parking lot.
“There is nothing in Hemy’s background to indicate a propensity for violence. He has lived a very good life as a well thought of, respected employee of General Electric. He is a father of three children. He is adored by friends and family alike. We just want to keep all of that in mind as we proceed in this process.” A statement of Neuman’s defense attorney Robert Rubin. And I believe him too!
And so we can cobble together a little more of this baffling patchwork quilt, that we tend to call the Dunwoody Murder. Not much more, mind you. The extent to which we can peep our noses into these court rooms is our only hope of harnessing any relevant information. And then once something does come out, we have to interpret the entrails like some pseudo-soothsayers of a bonkers Emperor Nero.
Here’s a good clue for you! Look at that AJC piece from the 9th (Dunwoody day care killing…) “Esther Panitch, an attorney representing Hemy Neuman’s estranged wife, Ariela, told the AJC that the Neumans separated in early October, before the shooting, because of a “private matter.” Then consider that the murder happens about a month later. Those two events are tied together somehow.
