Suspect arrested after retired veterinarian professor was killed while walking her dog in Alabama park
A retired university professor was murdered while walking her dog in an Alabama park and now police say they have arrested the man suspected of her killing.
Harold Rashad Dabney III was charged Sunday with two counts of capital murder related to the death of 59-year-old Dr. Julie Gard Schnuelle, Action News 5 reported.
Gard Schnuelle’s body was found in a wooded area of Kiesel Park, a dog park in Auburn, Alabma, around 2 p.m. Saturday. She sustained injuries that indicated an assault caused her death, authorities said.
She is listed on the Auburn University’s website as having retired from her position as a professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine in 2021.
A day after Gard Schnuelle’s death, police responded to a report of a suspicious person spotted about four miles from the park. Officers found Dabney and made observations that they believed connected him to Gard Schnuelle’s death, Auburn police said.
Gard Schnuelle’s red Ford F-150 was reported missing after her death, and authorities believe it was stolen by Dabney after the alleged homicide and found after his arrest. It was not immediately clear whether he was found with the vehicle.
Dabney was taken to the Lee County Jail, where he is being held without bond.
A motive for the killing has not been released and it’s unclear if the suspect knew the victim before the alleged attack.
In a statement, Auburn University said Gard Schnuelle was a “beloved” former member of the staff.
“Julie Gard Schnuelle, DVM, Ph. D., was a beloved member of the Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and the Auburn Family,” the university said. “She served as a faculty member in the Department of Clinical Sciences in the Large Animal/Food Animal section from 2003 to 2021, when she retired as a professor emerita.”
“The Auburn Police Department is leading the investigation, and all questions should be referred to them,” the statement continued. “Auburn sends our sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of Dr. Gard Schnuelle during this unimaginably difficult time.”
Gard Schnuelle had also studied veterinary medicine at Auburn, as well as biology at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. She later received her Ph.D. in Biomedical sciences at Auburn.
Authorities told WRBL that Gard Schnuelle’s dog was found unharmed.
