Left inset: Harold Dabney III (Auburn Police Department). Right inset: Dr. Julie Gard Schnuelle (Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine). Background: Kiesel Park in Auburn, Alabama, where Harold Dabney III is accused of killing Dr. Julie Gard Schnuelle on Saturday (Google Maps).
A retired professor and respected figure in the veterinary and academic community in Alabama was tragically killed over the weekend while she was walking her dog in a park. The 28-year-old accused of the crime reportedly took her Ford F-150 afterward, according to police.
Harold Rashad Dabney III, from Montgomery, is facing charges of capital murder for allegedly attacking and killing former Auburn University professor Dr. Julie Gard Schnuelle at Kiesel Park, which is situated in the 500 block of Chadwick Lane in Auburn, on Saturday, as detailed in a police statement.
Authorities claim Dabney left Gard Schnuelle’s body in a secluded area of the park and fled the scene in her F-150. Her body was found by a passerby who then called 911. Upon arriving, police noted injuries on her body suggesting she had died from an assault, prompting the immediate launch of a homicide investigation.
The following day, Sunday, at approximately 8:30 a.m., police received a report about a “suspicious person” near the 2300 block of Beehive Road, about 4 miles from Kiesel Park. This led officers to interact with and question Dabney.
“Officers who approached Dabney noticed details that connected him to the homicide from the day before,” Auburn Police Department officials explained. “After further inquiry, Dabney was identified as the suspect responsible for the murder, and he was charged with two counts of capital murder.”
Police recovered the red Ford F-150 belonging to Gard Schnuelle and “stolen by Dabney subsequent to the homicide” on Sunday after asking the public for help finding it. Authorities have not revealed where Dabney allegedly drove the vehicle before abandoning it near Wire Road.
Auburn University officials, as well as friends and family, released statements to local media outlets on Sunday morning describing Gard Schnuelle as a “welcoming” and “spunky” professor emerita who was known to “help you out” when needed.
“Dr. Gard Schnuelle retired as a professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences, in the Large Animal/Food Animal section in 2021,” Gard Schnuelle’s bio said on the Auburn website.
A former student, Dr. Ashley Rutter, told AL.com that Gard Schnuelle frequently visited Kiesel Park — specifically the dog park, as do many veterinary students.
“She ran there every day,” Rutter said.
Law enforcement has not released a motive for the slaying.
Dabney remained jailed at the Lee County Jail without bond as of Monday.
