A retired professor at Auburn University was stabbed to death over the weekend in a park near the Alabama college campus, according to Auburn Police and the university. A man has been arrested and charged in her murder.
Julie Gard Schnuelle, 59, was attacked Saturday morning in Auburn’s Kiesel Park, which the city says is a large green space with a walking trail that stretches for just over two miles. She had gone to the park to walk her dog, which was later found unharmed, CBS News affiliate WRBL reported.
“College of Veterinary Medicine Professor Emerita Julie Gard Schnuelle, DVM, Ph.D., was killed Saturday, Sept. 6, in Kiesel Park in Auburn, Alabama. The Auburn University community extends its sincere condolences to Dr. Gard Schnuelle’s family and loved ones for their tragic loss,” Auburn University said in a statement. “She was a cherished educator, mentor and colleague whose dedication to students and passion for theriogenology and veterinary medicine left a lasting impact on Auburn.”
Officers responded to a call at around 2 p.m. Saturday reporting a deceased person in a wooded section of the park, according to Auburn Police. At around 3:30 p.m., the police department shared a social media post instructing people to avoid Kiesel Park because of “a heavy first responder presence” in the area. It remained closed through the weekend as police launched an investigation into the attack.
Schnuelle had suffered injuries that indicated “the death was caused by an assault,” Auburn Police said, and the county coroner told WRBL that evidence was consistent with trauma sustained from a sharp object, potentially a knife, according to the station. The coroner said the body would undergo a full autopsy exam, WRBL reported.
Auburn Police arrested Montgomery resident Harold Rashad Dabney, 28, in connection with the fatal stabbing on Sunday, the department said. He was charged with two counts of capital murder, including one for kidnapping and another for robbery, as he allegedly stole Schnuelle’s Ford F-150 truck, which was parked in the area, to leave the scene after the attack, according to police.
Before her retirement in 2021, Schnuelle was a professor in the clinical sciences department of the university’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Her biography on the school’s website features some of her research into preventing and managing diseases in cattle and their calves.
The university said in its statement that Schnuelle joined the faculty of its veterinary college in 2003, after graduating from the college herself in 1996. She had recently worked at the U.S. Department of Agriculture as the area veterinarian in charge for Alabama and Mississippi, according to the university.
CBS News has reached out to Auburn Police for more information.
Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She typically covers breaking news, extreme weather and issues involving social justice. Emily Mae previously wrote for outlets like the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.
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