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Witnesses describe relationship between murder suspect, victim's wife

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga.,None — The widow of a slain Dunwoody businessman defended herself against accusations she was having an affair with the suspect, but the prosecution called a string of witnesses to testify otherwise.

The suspect, Hemy Neuman, stood trial for a second day Wednesday. He is accused of shooting Rusty Sneiderman to death outside his son's preschool in November 2010. Neuman has admitted he did it, but is pleading not guilty by reason of insanity.

On the first day of the trial, the prosecution and the defense asked Sneiderman's wife, Andrea, about her alleged affair with Neuman. She said she was aware that Neuman had feelings for her, but those feelings weren't reciprocated. She said she even thought about quitting her job.
 
"I said, 'You're draining me, and I have responsibilities at home. You obviously don't know your boundaries,'" Sneiderman said.

Defense lawyer Bob Rubin continued to press Sneiderman about their relationship, bringing to light emails between the two, affectionate gestures on Neuman's part and trips.

Sneiderman said she didn't recall many of the emails and said she never crossed the line on business trips. Particularly disputed was a trip to Longmont, Colo. Sneiderman said she was there for job training.

Rubin said Neuman joined her on the trip to spend time with her, but Sneiderman said she believed he was there on business. Rubin suggested she did not nothing to keep Neuman at bay.

Then, a front desk agent from the Colorado hotel where the two stayed took the stand.

"I received an unusual request," Brady Blackburn said.

He said he was asked by Neuman to give Sneiderman expensive flowers and chocolates. Blackburn said when he delivered a love note to Sneiderman, "She responded bashfully. She blushed."

Several other hotel employees were brought in and lawyers on both sides asked them about previous statements made regarding the business trips. A South Carolina hotel assistant manager said Sneiderman requested adjoining rooms for her and Neuman. Another hotel employee said Sneiderman changed a reservation from two beds to one bed and requested a late checkout.

A South Carolina bar employee said in the month before the killing, Sneiderman and Neuman drank and danced together at the bar, despite the fact that Sneiderman previously said otherwise.

"They looked like a couple, groping, like touching each other," Pulse waitress Christine Olivera said.

She added that they were kissing, "like making out."

Realtor Melanie White, who sold Neuman his home in 2006, testified about a meeting with Neuman in the summer of 2010 to discuss possibly short-selling his home due to financial and marital troubles.

White said she advised Neuman to return to his family and forget about the woman he said he was fond of at work, but in a later meeting in October, that Neuman spoke about his current relationship with Andrea Sneiderman. She said he discussed their upcoming work trip to London.

"That he and Andrea go closer. I believe that is when, I believe that was the time  that he said that he and Andrea had decided that they were soul mates. He also told me that Andrea was adamant that she would not leave her husband and her two kids. And he continually asked me what I thought he should do," White said.

The prosecution then called several people who worked at General Electric with Neuman. An HR manager and Neuman's supervisor both testified he told them about his marital problems, as well as a new relationship, but he did not specify who she was or where she worked. Both said Neuman never mentioned being depressed or suffering delusions.

After hearing testimony from the man who runs GunListings.org, the prosecution called Jan Dasilva, the man who used that website to sell the weapon used in the shooting to Neuman.

Dasilva said he met with Neuman to sell him the pistol around Halloween 2010 and that Neuman tracked him down in mid-November to tell him something bad happened with the gun and he threw it into Lake Lanier.

“He started off by saying ‘Don’t ever have a mistress.’” After that I just said, 'Yes,' to him and he told me that he had a problem with his family because of a problem with the mistress," Dasilva said.

Dasilva said Neuman told him people would ask him about the gun, and he told Dasilva to lie about how they knew each other.

Shortly after Dasilva's testimony, court was dismissed for the day. The judge advised jurors there will only be a half day of testimony on Thursday.

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