Russell “Rusty” Sneiderman was the unlikeliest of murder victims, a Harvard-educated father of two involved with several Atlanta medical charities. His accused killer — an Israeli-educated father of three with a good job and no criminal record — rates as an equally implausible suspect.
In yet another head-spinning twist, it emerged Wednesday that Hemy Zvi Neuman, whom Dunwoody police arrested late Tuesday, was a supervisor of Andrea Sneiderman, the victim’s wife. General Electric Energy confirmed that Neuman and Andrea Sneiderman worked at the same complex off Powers Ferry Road.
That left Russell Sneiderman’s family and friends struggling to come to grips with a fresh surge of painful questions. What trail of events could have brought two seemingly model citizens, who knew each other personally, to such a shocking pass: One dead of multiple gunshot wounds outside a Dunwoody child care center, and the other sitting, charged with his murder in DeKalb Country Jail?
Dunwoody police remained tight-lipped Wednesday about a motive for the killing while saying that additional arrests may be forthcoming.
Russell Sneiderman was gunned down Nov. 18 moments after the 36-year-old entrepreneur walked his 2-year-old son to class. A sketch of the shooter police compiled based on eyewitness accounts resembles Neuman, although the man in the sketch has a beard and Neuman was clean-shaven at the time of his arrest.
“We’re just so confused about this whole business,” the victim’s father, Donald Sneiderman, told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution. “I just don’t know.”
In yet another odd development, Neuman requested a public defender Wednesday during his first court appearance. Defendants must prove that they are indigent in order to get a public defender, but Neuman held a mid-level managerial job and lived in an upscale East Cobb subdivision where homes, including his, are typically valued at upwards of $500,000.
Neighbors said they had not seen Neuman for some weeks, but they did not know whether that indicated that he had moved or was merely traveling for the holidays. A police press release described Neuman as a resident of Buckhead, but there are no records of his having an address there.
Neuman, who remains at DeKalb County Jail without bond, made his first appearance Wednesday before a magistrate. Physically unassuming, he spoke in an authoritative voice when requesting a public defender, and he corrected the magistrate for mispronouncing his first name. Otherwise he said nothing, merely nodding to indicate that he understood the magistrate's explanation of the legal process.
Debbie Karesh, who lives two doors down from Neuman, said neighbors hadn't seen the graying, bespectacled businessman much in recent weeks. The family appeared close, she said, often gathering for barbecues in the summer.
According to his Facebook page, since taken down, Neuman spent the holidays "[traveling] with the girls in Florida." He last posted an update on Friday, wishing friends a happy New Year.
Neuman graduated with honors from Georgia Tech in 1984. His engineering degree led him to Lockheed Martin, where he worked for 10 years before eventually landing at General Electric in September 1999.
It's not known when he met Andrea Sneiderman or if she was the one who introduced Neuman to her late husband.
The Sneidermans met at Indiana University, where Rusty Sneiderman studied business en route to becoming a certified public accountant. He eventually earned a masters of business administration from Harvard. The couple moved south about a decade ago, raising their two young children in a comfortable section of Dunwoody.
Sneiderman worked in a variety of jobs, once serving as the chief operating officer for Innovia Group and then as a financial consultant for the Atlanta division of JP Morgan Chase & Co., longtime friend Matt Davidson told the AJC in November. He struck out on his own in 2008, founding at least three start-ups, according to records from the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.
His wife worked for GE as an engineering manager. She worked across the street from Neuman in the Wildwood Parkway office complex. The company confirmed they often worked together. The department they worked for oversees the specifications and performance standards for products ranging from nuclear reactors to turbines to solar panels, GE said.
Neither police nor General Electric would say whether there had been any falling out between Sneiderman and her supervisor.
Police believed from the start that Sneiderman was targeted, based on the manner in which he was killed. As time passed, theories abounded, with some speculating that the daring and cool murder was a professional hit.
Footage from surveillance cameras indicates that he did not see his killer approach. The shooter, who wore wearing a hoodie, quietly drove off in an silver Dodge Minivan after firing four shots at close range in clear view of the cameras and nearby witnesses.
Neither the gun or minivan have been located in case that police say is still developing.
"It's still under investigation," Dunwoody Police spokesman Mike Carlson told the AJC late Wednesday.
-- Staff writers Craig Schneider, Marcus K. Garner and Katie Leslie contributed to this article.
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