Love triangle, insanity defense draw national audience for Neuman trial | News

DECATUR, Ga. (WXIA) -- When testimony finally begins Tuesday in the Hemy Neuman murder trial, it'll have the interest of a national audience -- drawn by allegations of a deadly love triangle, and a longshot insanity defense.

The question for jurors won't be whether Hemy Newman killed Rusty Schneiderman outside a Dunwoody day care 15 months ago. Newman isn't disputing that. Instead, he's asking jurors to believe he didn't know that the act was wrong -- the cornerstone of his insanity defense.

"Jurors are very, very leery of an insanity defense," said J. Tom Morgan, a former DeKalb district attorney now in private practice.

Others keeping up with the case at the DeKalb County courthouse will include Tru TV, which is providing pool TV coverage of the trial; as well as NBC's Dateline and ABC's 20/20.

Last week, a judge seated a total of sixteen jurors and alternatives -- five men and eleven women, four of whom will be named as alternates for the trial lasting four to six weeks.

Once the evidence of the crime is presented, Morgan says a battle of experts will begin.  Expert witnesses will undoubtedly disagree on Neuman's mental condition -- the insanity question, where Morgan says prosecutors will have the advantage.

"There doesn't appear to be a history of mental illness before the crime. And after the crime, he was doing everything he could to avoid being caught up in this," Morgan said. "And so the prosecutors are going to have fun with these experts."

Opening statements are scheduled Tuesday.