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First suggestion of conspiracy in Neuman trial

The trial has been delayed until Thursday due to a death in the judge's family.

But before the recess, the prosecution suggested – for the first time -- that there may have been a conspiracy between Hemy Neuman and Andrea Sneiderman.

During the questioning of Dr. Adriana Flores, the psychologist who determined Neuman was insane when he shot Rusty Sneiderman, Assistant DA Don Geary posed a hypothetical query.

"If there's evidence that she knew what was going to happen, if there's evidence that this is, in fact, a plan by Andrea and the defendant to get rid of Rusty so they can be together, then everything he (Neuman) told you would be wrong and you would be wrong?"

Flores replied, "if I knew they had corroborated together, then yes, that would change my opinion."

Geary also questioned Dr. Flores about her diagnosis and how she reached it.

"Doctor, you weren't there on November 18, 2010.  How do you know (he was insane)?  Are you a psychologist or a psychic?  How do you know?"

Geary also hammered Flores about Neuman's attempts to hide his crime, asking how someone who asks another person to lie to the police does not know what they did was wrong.

Geary also questioned Flores about the demon and the angel Neuman claims appeared to him.  Geary got Flores to admit that the only source for these apparitions was Neuman himself, and there was no other corroborating source.

Flores maintained throughout her testimony that she believes Neuman was not in his right mind, did not know right from wrong, and was not faking mental illness.

Dr. Flores also said Neuman was driven to delusions by being treated like a yo-yo.

"What Andrea Sneiderman was in fact doing was pulling him and pushing him, said Flores.  "All along giving him some very real cues of her interest in him, further cementing his delusion about the nature of their relationship."

Flores says Andrea Sneiderman would tell him one moment that she wanted him; then the next moment that she could not have him.

Earlier in the morning, Flores testified again that Hemy Neuman committed murder to protect the Sneiderman children.

"He was delusional," said Flores.  "He believed with all his being that he was rescuing those children, Ian and Sofia from danger they were going to come to if they remained with Rusty Sneiderman."

She says Neuman was so obsessed with the Sneiderman children that he entered their names in his iPad alongside the names of his own children.

Hemy Neuman's defense team is set to wrap up its case this week.

The trial was expected to last up to six weeks, but attorneys say it could go to the jury by the end of the week.

Last week Dr. Flores testified that Neuman suffers from Bipolar 1 disorder, which led him to delusions.  He was so obsessed with Andrea Sneiderman that he was not in his right mind.

As for why Neuman, who is charged with gunning down Sneiderman outside of Dunwoody Prep on November 18, 2010, wore a disguise, Dr. Flores testified that Neuman explained why during her evaluation.

"He said that, if Andrea found out he was the one who had done it, he and she and the children could not be together," she says.

Flores did a full mental evaluation of Neuman, learning that his claims of seeing demons and angels dated back to his childhood.  It was the appearance of one of these "angels" that prompted Neuman to commit murder.

Neuman had just had a business meeting with Rusty Sneiderman and was driving home on I-285 when it happened.

"The angel appeared," says Dr. Flores, "and told him he's (Rusty) is going to hurt them (Sneiderman's children) and you have to protect them.  You can't let this happen again."

At that point, according to Flores, Neuman became obsessed with the idea of murdering Rusty Sneiderman.

"He felt this drive, this absolute 'I just have to do this.  I cannot question it.'  And he thought to himself, as he was driving, 'I just have to kill him."

Flores says Neuman saw himself as a soldier on a mission.

Neuman told Flores he would be at work and, while doing different projects, he'd be thinking about how to do it.

"Should I poison him?  Should I run him over?," Flores testified.  "He was thinking of ways to kill Rusty Sneiderman."

Flores says Neuman told her he handled the murder weapon days before the shooting and thought to himself, "It's not about killing Rusty.  It's about protecting the children."

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