Andrea Sneiderman was handcuffed and led out of the courtroom after DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Gregory A. Adams sentenced her to five years in prison.
Mrs. Sneiderman is on her way to jail as I believed she should be in the first place DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James said later.
Lawyers for Sneiderman talked Tuesday of seeking an appeal and getting her before the parole board in as little as two months.
We believe we have multiple grounds for appeal said Doug Chalmers one of the lawyers who will work on the appeal with Atlanta defense attorney Brian Steel. This is a fight Andrea Sneiderman is going to win.
A jury found Sneiderman guilty Monday of nine of 13 felony counts including perjury and making false statements to police in connection with their investigation into the murder of her husband Rusty Sneiderman. He was gunned down in the parking lot of the Dunwoody Prep day care facility in November 2010 just after taking his son to class there.
Prosecutors alleged that Andrea Sneiderman had had an affair with her former supervisor at GE Energy Hemy Neuman who was convicted in March 2011 of fatally shooting Rusty Sneiderman.
Andrea Sneiderman did not testify but her testimony during Neuman s trial played a pivotal role in her conviction.
Sneiderman testified in Neuman s trial against the advice of many.
I was shocked when the prosecution began attacking me she said. I fought back and I tried to defend myself. I m embarrassed when I watch the tape of my testimony.
Sneiderman and her supporters had asked Adams for leniency after the prosecution sought a prison sentence of 20 years.
Adams sentenced her to five years on each count allowing them to run concurrently. The judge also gave Sneiderman credit for the three weeks she spent in jail after her Aug. 2 2012 arrest and the following 11 plus months she was under house arrest until the murder charge against her was dismissed on July 29. Adams said those two stints will be deducted from Sneiderman s five year prison term.
The sentence was similar to one offered to her in a plea deal before the trial.
No one s ever gone to prison for perjury said J. Tom Morgan one of Sneiderman s attorneys. It is even lower than the lowest level on the grid.
Sneiderman showed no emotion as she was being led out after a morning of tearful testimony by her and others.
She said her only regret was allowing Neuman into her life.
I never thought Mr. Neuman was capable of murder she said.
The line of appropriate conduct was blurred she acknowledged while insisting there was never any sexual contact between the two. I thought I could handle him. I thought he was a man just being a man.
Sneiderman dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit shed tears throughout the testimony of friends and family speaking on her behalf. She was found guilty of four counts of perjury three counts of delivering false statements hindering the apprehension of a criminal and concealment of material facts.
The brother of Rusty Sneiderman said his sister in law had no one to blame but herself.
She thinks she s special but she s not Steve Sneiderman said. She s a common criminal. She lied to her family. She lied to her friends. She lied to Rusty.
Without her lies and betrayal to her death Rusty would still be here with his children he said. A very special man is gone because of her actions.
Defense attorney Tom Clegg said Andrea Sneiderman had no involvement in her husband s murder.
Had there been no public interest there would ve been no trial Clegg said in asking the judge for a sentence of probation. Why on earth has the criminal justice system been so hell bent on destroying this woman s life I ve never seen anything like it.
Later Clegg said I felt like I was kicked in the stomach when I heard the verdict. I still feel that way.
Sneiderman s friends spoke of the need for their children to have their mother.
Miss Elizabeth I can t see my mommy but she s not dead said Elizabeth Stansbury quoting Sneiderman s son as the defendant quietly sobbed. They do not need to lose another parent.
Friend Andy Lipman said Saturday is the eighth birthday of Sneiderman s daughter.
Please give (her) a birthday gift unlike no other he said.
Sneiderman s father Herb Greenberg acknowledged that his daughter made some mistakes while asserting the defense will appeal Monday s verdict.
{ 0 comments... Views All / Send Comment! }
Post a Comment