Police have identified and arrested a man named Harold Rashad Dabney III as the prime suspect in the brutal killing of retired Auburn University professor Julie Gard Schnuelle
Authorities reportedly found Schnuelle dead in a wooded area of Kiesel Park while she was out walking her dog.
Schnuelle was a professor emerita at Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine from 2003 to 2021, when she retired and recently was the Area Veterinarian in Charge with the U.S. Department of Agriculture for Alabama and Mississippi.
Who is Harold Rashad Dabney III who murdered retired Auburn University professor Julie Gard Schnuelle
Future civil engineer, Harold Rashad Dabney III pic.twitter.com/LeUUiYVCOb
— 5NYC.com (@5NYCCOM) September 8, 2025
They haven't reported this one either.
NEW: Former Auburn professor hacked to death while taking her dog on a walk in Kiesel Park in Alabama.59-year-old Dr. Julie Gard Schnuelle was allegedly killed by suspect Harold Rashad Dabney III, 28, who is accused of stealing her truck… pic.twitter.com/7f7Pk3cjhW
— Angela (@angelamagee21) September 8, 2025
According to investigators, Dabney also stole her Ford F-150, which police later recovered.
Harold Rashad Dabney III, identified as main suspect in retired college professor murder
Authorities in Virginia have charged and arrested Harold Rashad Dabney III as the main suspect in the murder of retired college professor Julie Gard Schnuelle. According to reports, police found the 59-year-old retired professor on Saturday with assault injuries and an unharmed dog nearby. Detectives stated that they arrested Dabney on Sunday after they received a call about a suspicious person in the area and quickly linked him to the homicide. Harld’s arrest comes following a troubling past, including a prior gun-related case where a felony charge was dropped.
Dabney used force against Dr. Gard Schnuelle and stole from her and he also kidnapped the former professor with the intention of hurting her.
Charges and allegations
Following the arrest, police have charged Harold Rashad Dabney III with two counts of capital murder—one for the killing itself and another because it occurred during the commission of a theft.
Prior records
According to court documents, Harold Rashad Dabney III was previously arrested in December 2023 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Officers arrested him after they discovered him intoxicated and sleeping in a car with a concealed handgun lacking a serial number. They also found a sawed-off shotgun, white pills, and alcohol alongside Dabney. While Dabney pleaded guilty to four misdemeanors, he only received a two-year jail sentence and spent most of it suspended, and then a year in probation.
Harold Rashad Dabney III biography and age
Harold Rashad Dabney III is the main suspect in the recent murder of a retired college professor, and he is currently just 28 years old. According to police records, he was homeless at the time of his 2023 arrest and had held a job months earlier. However, he was unemployed when officers arrested him and his background before his first criminal case remains limited. Following his recent arrest, he is currently an inmate at Lee County Jail, where he is being held without bond.
He was arrested in 2023 and charged with a gun-related felony, but prosecutors later allowed him to plead guilty to several misdemeanors.
Dabney was arrested on 27, December, 2023 in Virginia Beach, Virginia on a gun-related felony and several misdemeanors. He was homeless at the time, was sleeping in his car in a business’s parking lot when law enforcement was called for trespassing.
Dr. Julie Gard Schnuelle's former students say she was a legend and a leading example of what a strong woman looks like. pic.twitter.com/QlmU61s6vA
— WVTM 13 (@WVTM13) September 10, 2025
