Alabama tragedy: Auburn vet professor killed while walking dog; suspect charged with capital murder

A former veterinary professor was fatally attacked while walking her dog in Kiesel Park in Auburn, Alabama, authorities said. The suspect was arrested a short distance from the scene the following day.

Dr Julie Gard Schnuelle, 59, a former professor of Large Animal Medicine at Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, was found in a wooded area of the park on Saturday afternoon. She had driven to Kiesel Park with her dog in her red Ford F-150 pickup, and the dog remained unharmed beside her body.

The suspect, Harold Rashad Dabney III, 28, from Montgomery, stole Schnuelle’s truck but was apprehended a short distance away the following day. The vehicle was recovered on Sunday, a few minutes’ drive away on Wire Road.

Dabney was arrested on Beehive Road just off I-85 after Auburn police received a call reporting a suspicious person. “Officers in contact with Dabney made observations that led them to believe Dabney had involvement with the homicide that occurred the previous day,” police said, as quoted by the New York Post. He is being held without bond at the Lee County Jail.

News of Schnuelle’s death left the Auburn community stunned. Auburn’s veterinary school, along with many of her former students and colleagues, mourned the loss of the animal lover who specialised in livestock.