East Cobb Man Indicted in Dunwoody Murder

Updated: 9:07 a.m., Wednesday

Hemy Zvi Neuman, the East Cobb man accused of gunning down Russell "Rusty" Sneiderman outside of a Dunwoody day care center in November, was indicted by a DeKalb County Grand Jury Tuesday on murder and gun charges.

Tuesday was also the first day that Andrea Sneiderman, the wife of Rusty Sneiderman, made her first public statement about the case, saying she was “shocked” that Neuman, her former boss at a General Electric Energy office in East Cobb, had been arrested for the murder.

Tuesday morning, Neuman was indicted on charges of malice murder and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

Neuman’s indictment, which was filed in DeKalb County Superior Court, was announced by DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James.

“Our collective goal is to continue to seek justice and preserve the public safety of our community,” James said. “Not only for the Sneiderman family but for anyone who lost a loved one because of violent crime.”

Neuman, 48, is accused shooting Sneiderman 36, on Nov. 18 outside of Dunwoody Prep, a day care facility in Dunwoody Village. Sneiderman had just dropped off one of his children at the school when he was shot multiple times at close range by his assailant.

James declined to answer questions about evidence in the case, including questions about whether a murder weapon had been found.

"I don’t comment on evidence," he said. "But what I can tell you is there was enough evidence for the grand jury to return an indictment at 9 a.m."

The family of Neuman, 48, lives in an  near  shopping center and has asked for privacy since his arrest. He and Andrea Sneiderman worked at a General Electric Energy operations office in the Wildwood Parkway complex near Powers Ferry Road. 

Andrea Sneiderman, who has declined media interviews since the shooting, released a statement Tuesday, which was sent out via e-mail by her brother.

“The murder of my husband, Rusty Sneiderman, has been devastating to me and our families,” she wrote. “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 continued, “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.”

James had high praise for the Dunwoody Police Department’s work on the case.

“My hat is off to them for the work they have done,” he said. “They went to great lengths to discover the truth in this matter, what we believe to be the truth, and we would not be here had it not been for their work and also our office and our investigators as well.

There had been a preliminary hearing scheduled for Tuesday morning. In such hearings, evidence is presented to a judge to justify the case against the defendant. Those hearings are public.

However, that hearing was cancelled Monday and instead, the case was taken to the grand jury, to which evidence is presented to justify moving forward. Grand juries are not open to the public. 

“Procedurally, we had enough evidence to take the case before a grand jury so a hearing was unnecessary,” James said.

The grand jury hearing also meant that the attorneys for Neuman and Neuman himself didn’t get a look at the state’s evidence. The defendant and his attorneys are not allowed to be present at such a hearing.

“Mr. Neuman has not had a chance to listen to the evidence,” said Robert Rubin, one of Neuman’s attorneys. “This would have been his first opportunity to hear the evidence that the state has against him. So he has been in jail about a month, a little over a month, without still hearing the evidence against him.”

Rubin and Douglas Peters, Neuman’s other attorney, would not go into any details on the case, including Neuman’s relationship to Andrea Sneiderman.

The attorneys said they would be pursuing a petition for bond. Right now, Neuman is being held in DeKalb County Jail without bond.

“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,” Rubin said. “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.”

Rubin said he and Peters saw Neuman on Monday, in preparation for the canceled preliminary hearing.

“He is holding up. He is obviously distraught for his family. He’s concerned how they’re holding up,” Rubin said. “He is still concerned for the Sneiderman family. He understands what they’ve been through.”

The next step in the process will be an arraignment. No hearing date has been set for that as of yet.