Retired Auburn professor killed at Kiesel Park; capital murder charge

A retired Auburn University veterinary professor was found dead Saturday after being attacked while walking her dog in a popular city park, and police arrested a Montgomery man who has been charged with capital murder, authorities said. Dr. Julie Gard Schnuelle, 59, was discovered dead in a wooded area of Kiesel Park in Auburn, Alabama, on Sept. 6, Auburn Police said. Officers later arrested Harold Rashad Dabney III, 28, and charged him with two counts of capital murder, including charges tied to an alleged kidnapping and robbery.

Officers responded around 2 p.m. to a report of a deceased person in a wooded section of the park, which features roughly two miles of walking trails and a dog park. Schnuelle had gone to the park to walk her dog, which was found unharmed near her body, police said. Lee County Coroner Daniel Sexton told local media that Schnuelle’s injuries were consistent with sharp force trauma and that a full autopsy would be performed.

Police said evidence at the scene and subsequent investigative steps led them to identify Dabney, and he was arrested the following day after a 911 call about a suspicious person a few miles from where Schnuelle’s vehicle was later...