The Auburn University community is mourning the death of retired professor Julie Gard Schnuelle, who was fatally stabbed over the weekend while walking her dog in a city park.
Schnuelle, 59, a professor emerita in Auburn’s College of Veterinary Medicine, was attacked Saturday morning in Kiesel Park, a popular green space near campus with a two-mile walking trail. Police said her dog was later found unharmed.
According to Auburn Police, evidence at the scene indicated Schnuelle died from injuries consistent with an assault.
Lee County Coroner’s officials told CBS affiliate WRBL that trauma appeared to have been caused by a sharp object, possibly a knife. An autopsy has been scheduled.
On Sunday, authorities arrested 28-year-old Montgomery resident Harold Rashad Dabney in connection with the killing.
Dabney faces two counts of capital murder, one for kidnapping and another for robbery.
Investigators allege he stole Schnuelle’s Ford F-150 truck from the park to flee the scene.
Auburn University released a statement expressing condolences to Schnuelle’s family, describing her as a beloved educator, mentor, and colleague whose “dedication to students and passion for theriogenology and veterinary medicine left a lasting impact on Auburn.”
Schnuelle, who joined Auburn’s faculty in 2003 after earning her veterinary degree from the university in 1996, retired in 2021.
She was widely respected for her research into disease prevention and management in cattle and calves.
Most recently, she worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture as the area veterinarian in charge for Alabama and Mississippi.
Her death has shocked both the academic and local communities, as tributes continue to pour in for the professor who shaped the careers of countless veterinary students during her tenure at Auburn.
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