Auburn University Veterinarian Killed While Walking Dog in Local Park

A retired Auburn University professor was fatally attacked while walking her dog in a popular local park. A man was later charged with murder in connection with her death.

Dr. Julie Gard Schnuelle, 59, was killed on Saturday, Sept. 6, after she was assaulted in Kiesel Park in Auburn, Ala., the Auburn Police Department said. She was found dead in a wooded area of the park.

According to a report from AL.com, Schnuelle was walking her dog at the time of the assault and regularly ran in the same park.

Police subsequently announced that they arrested Harold Rashad Dabney III, who was charged with capital murder in connection with Schnuelle’s death. Police further alleged that Dabney had stolen Schnuelle’s red Ford F-150, which was later recovered.

It is not immediately clear if Dabney has retained an attorney or entered a plea.

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Schnuelle, a veterinarian, retired as a professor at Auburn in 2021, according to her bio page on the university’s website.

“She was a force,” friend and former student Destinee Bearden Patterson told AL.com. “She was only a little bit over 5-foot-2, not your typical large animal veterinarian. She was a force in this world, such a bright, bright light, just an all-around wonderful human being that is going to be missed terribly.”

Schnuelle taught in the school’s Department of Clinical Sciences, in the Large Animal/Food Animal section, according to the university.