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Day care murder suspect's sister testifies about abusive childhood

DECATUR, Ga.,None — Thursday morning, jurors heard from the sister of the man accused of gunning down and killing another man in front of a Dunwoody day care.

Hemy Nueman's sister, Monique Metsch, testified about their abusive childhood. She said their father, a concentration camp survivor, drank nightly and physically abused them.

"It would be slaps that were continuous. He would hit with an open hand. I would be sitting at the table and if I didn't finish my soup he would pull my head back. He once shoved vegetable soup down my nose," Metsch said.

Metsch said her brother caught the brunt of their father's abuse because she would blame him for things.

"It didn't take one second for him to grab him (Neuman) out of the car, pull him out of the car, lean him up against the car and start beating him over, and over and over again," Metsch said.

A forensic psychiatrist who examined Neuman also took the stand.

Neuman's defense is that he was insane when he shot and killed Rusty Sneiderman outside a Dunwoody day care in November 2010.

Metsch said in the months leading up to the shooting, she saw her brother spending his money erratically, but when she saw him one month after the shooting, he did not appear to be hallucinating as his defense attorneys have claimed.

The first witness the defense wanted to call was Chayna Citron, a former friend of Rusty Sneiderman's wife, Andrea Sneiderman.

Defense attorneys wanted to question Citron about an incident in the courtroom last week that ended with Sneiderman barred from the courthouse, but prosecutors told the judge the incident shouldn't be admitted and the judge ruled in their favor.
 
After Citron testified that she believed Andrea Sneiderman was having an affair with Neuman, and that Sneiderman called to tell her Rusty had been shot before anyone officially told her, Sneiderman hugged and kissed Citron in clear view of the jury.  Then, outside the courtroom, she told Citron she was no longer her friend.
 
Defense Attorney Doug Peters told the judge Wednesday morning that Citron told Sneiderman she had "to tell the truth," and that Sneiderman told her she "would do what she had to do," which Peters said Citron took as a veiled threat.

Peters said after the incident, Citron notified her lawyer and her children's school because she feared something might happen.  He told the judge Sneiderman's behavior proves how she "manipulates" those around her, including his client.
 
"Andrea Sneiderman is playing us all for a fool," said Peters, even suggesting that her conduct should be considered criminal.

But Prosecutor Don Geary argued her conduct isn't admissible in court because the bulk of the incident happened outside the jury's presence.  He also argued Citron had been released as a witness so no crime had been committed.

"It's truly an attempt to have the sideshow take over the circus," said Geary about having Citron testify for the defense.

The judge ruled that the defense will not be allowed to question Citron in front of the jury.

Andrea Sneiderman has denied having an affair with Neuman.