Dunwoody Prep Shooting: Evidence Includes Van Rental, Gun Sales Form

A new court filing gives a glimpse into how the Dunwoody Police Department and other agencies built their case against Hemy Neuman, the man accused of killing Rusty Sneiderman last November.

An index of the state's evidence shows how police connected the dots between Neuman and the silver Kia Sedona van seen fleeing the scene of the murder.

Evidence also includes a sales document for a Bersa .40 handgun, bought in April 2010, and a sign-in sheet from a Woodstock shooting range with Neuman’s name on it, dated Nov. 1, 17 days before the shooting.

The index of the state’s evidence includes nearly 200 items cataloged across more than 3,200 pages and 49 electronic records.

The index is included in the state's motion for discovery, whereby the state allows the defense attorneys an opportunity to see what evidence the state has. The motion also asks for an alibi for Neuman between the times of 5 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Nov. 18.

Tracking the silver van

On the morning of Nov. 18, Sneiderman was gunned down outside of Dunwoody Prep, a daycare in Dunwoody village. Sneiderman was returning to his car after dropping off his 2-year-old son when a man walked up and shot him several times at close range. Witnesses said the shooter, who was wearing what looked to be a fake beard, then jumped into a silver Kia Sedona without plates and fled the scene.

According to the evidence index filed in DeKalb County Superior Court, images of the shooter’s getaway car were caught on surveillance video from the school and other businesses in Dunwoody Village.

Investigators began combing through records of local rental car agencies, mapping out locations with large inventories of Kia Sedonas. They found an Enterprise Rent-A-Car rental agreement signed by Neuman. According to court documents, he rented the van on Nov. 17 and returned it the next day, after the shooting.

In a search of the van, police found synthetic hairs, which they associated with the fake beard witnesses described the killer as wearing, documents say.

According to a search warrant filed in the case, police have information that shows Neuman arrived to work at General Electric early on Nov. 18, left his office before the murder and returned to the same office after the murder happened.

No weapon, but possible evidence of one

Although there is no physical handgun in evidence, according to the court records, the index does list a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives form for the sale of a .40 Bersa pistol on April 8, 2010. The index does not say whose name is on that form.

Police also found that 18 days before the shooting, Neuman signed in at Pannell’s Firearms and Range in Woodstock, where his driver’s license was scanned.

Investigating the relationship between Neuman and the victim’s wife

Neuman had worked with Andrea Sneiderman, the wife of Rusty Sneiderman, at General Electric in Marietta. The two worked together frequently and according to emails leaked to some Atlanta media outlets, he and Andrea Sneiderman had taken several business trips together.

Their  both by investigators in the criminal case and by Neuman’s estranged wife Ariella, from whom he separated last October.

Ariela Neuman’s attorney, Esther Panitch, told the AJC this past week that they believe there was an affair going on between Neuman and Sneiderman,  about the relationship between the two. The request is part of a filing from Ariela Neuman for a legal separation from Hemy Neuman.

Investigators are looking at personal phone and email records between Hemy Neuman and Andrea Sneiderman. According to a search warrant filed in the criminal case, the documents say the “investigation revealed that there was continuous communication between Andrea Sneiderman and the defendant before and after the homicide.”

Investigators also have call detail data from Neuman’s work phone, his General Electric personnel records, key card activity, corporate credit card records, corporate laptop and swipe card readings for his visitor badge.

Investigators looked at information from Andrea Sneiderman’s corporate laptop and corporate credit card records as well.

Neuman is scheduled to be arraigned on April 4.

Other evidence indexed includes:

• Notes from an initial interview with Andrea Sneiderman and a consent to search form from her

• 911 recordings from the morning of Nov. 18.

• Surveillance videos, which include stills of the suspect’s face, the van, videos from nearby businesses.

• a about a suspicious person behind his home.

• Interviews with about three dozen witnesses.

• Staff interviews at General Electric

• Interviews with Dunwoody Prep parents who dropped off their children between 8 and 9:30 a.m.