Man accused in death of Dr. Julie Gard Schnuelle faces capital murder charges
By SPEAKIN’ OUT NEWS
OPELIKA, Ala. — A Lee County judge has found probable cause to send the case against Harold Rashad Dabney III to a grand jury in the killing of Dr. Julie Gard Schnuelle, a beloved Auburn University veterinarian and professor.
Dabney, 28, of Auburn, is charged with two counts of capital murder — one during a kidnapping and another during a theft — in Schnuelle’s Sept. 6 death at Kiesel Park, where she often ran with her dog.
During Wednesday’s preliminary hearing, Auburn Police Detective Taylor Clark testified that surveillance video showed Schnuelle arriving at the park at 9:38 a.m. in her red Ford F-150. About 10:29 a.m., footage captured a man believed to be Dabney locating and entering her truck before driving away.
Later that afternoon, officers discovered two pools of blood and Schnuelle’s body about 30 yards off a walking trail. Clark said she appeared to have been dragged and suffered seven stab wounds to her neck, chest, and arm.
The next morning, police detained Dabney at St. Matthews Baptist Church, where they found Schnuelle’s credit cardhidden in his underwear. A fingerprint on her truck also matched Dabney’s, investigators said.
Judge Jeffrey Tickal ruled that the evidence supported the charges, sending the case to a grand jury for review. Dabney, represented by court-appointed attorneys, did not speak during the hearing.
Auburn University called Schnuelle “a beloved member of the Auburn Family.”
“She was a bright light — an all-around wonderful human being who will be missed terribly,” said former student Destinee Bearden Patterson.