A community in Alabama is reeling after the brutal killing of Dr. Julie Gard Schnuelle, a retired veterinary professor at Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, who was hacked to death while walking her dog in a local park she visited almost daily.
Dr. Schnuelle, 59, was found Saturday afternoon in a wooded area of Kiesel Park in Auburn, her loyal dog standing guard by her side. The pet, unharmed but shaken, refused to leave the woman who had dedicated her life to animals.
Police say she had driven to the park in her red Ford F-150 pickup, as she often did. Hours later, her truck was gone, setting off a citywide search. By Sunday, officers recovered it on Wire Road, just minutes away.
The suspect, 28-year-old Harold Rashad Dabney III of Montgomery, was arrested the following day. Auburn police said a call about a suspicious person led them to Dabney on Beehive Road, just off I-85. “Officers in contact with Dabney made observations that led them to believe he had involvement with the homicide,” the department said in a statement. Dabney has been charged with capital murder and is being held without bond at the Lee County Jail.
For Auburn’s veterinary school and the broader community, the loss is immeasurable. Dr. Schnuelle specialized in large animal medicine—a field where her petite 5-foot-2 frame stood in contrast to the massive livestock she treated—but she left an outsize mark on generations of students.
“She was a force. She was only a little bit over 5-foot-2, not your typical large animal veterinarian,” former colleague Destinee Bearden Patterson told AL.com. “She was such a bright, bright light, just an all-around wonderful human being that is going to be missed terribly.”
Friends and former students remembered her not only for her skill with animals, but also for her kindness, humor, and fierce loyalty. “She ran there every day,” said Ashley Rutter, a former student who often saw Schnuelle at Kiesel Park. “She was always so welcoming. She was spunky and ready to make jokes. But if she saw something she didn’t like, she would always stand up for you and for herself. She’d be there to defend you and help you out.”
Photos shared by family and friends show Schnuelle smiling with her children, at her husband’s graduation, and celebrating her retirement. Colleagues said her dedication to animals extended far beyond the classroom and clinic—she lived her vocation every day.
The brutality of her death has shocked Auburn, a city that prides itself on safety and its deep ties to the university. The killing took place in one of its most popular gathering places, a park often filled with students, dog walkers, and families.
Condolences poured in from across Alabama, including from U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, a former Auburn football coach. “Suzanne and I are devastated by the news of this tragic loss in our community,” he said in a social media post. “We are praying for the victim’s family and loved ones and for justice to be served.”
As police continue their investigation, the community is left mourning a woman remembered as both tough and tender, a veterinarian who treated livestock with the same care she gave her students, family, and friends.
In the end, perhaps the most haunting detail is the image of her dog—faithful and unyielding—refusing to leave her side. For those who knew Dr. Julie Gard Schnuelle, that loyalty was fitting: a final tribute to a life defined by devotion to animals, to her community, and to the countless people she inspired.