Auburn professor’s murder case heads to grand jury after hearing

AUBURN, Ala. (WRBL) —Graphic new testimony in a Lee County courtroom is shedding light on the evidence police say ties a man to the brutal killing of Dr. Julie Schnuelle, whose body was found at Kiesel Park on September 6, 2025.

Dr. Schnuelle, 59, was a retired professor with Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Investigators say she was walking her dog at Kiesel Park when she was attacked and killed in broad daylight.

During Wednesday’s preliminary hearing, Auburn Police Detective Taylor Clark described how the investigation began when a 911 caller reported finding a pool of blood along a walking trail.

Clark testified when officers arrived at Kiesel Park — Auburn’s largest city park, spanning 150 acres of trails, meadows, and ponds — they found two pools of blood near the trail and Dr. Schnuelle’s body about 25 to 30 yards into the wood line, behind a tree. Clark said it appeared the victim had been dragged from the trail and suffered “numerous wounds from a bladed object.”

Dr. Schnuelle’s autopsy showed seven sharp-force wounds, mostly to her upper body, and probable defensive injuries to her hand and forearm. Investigators testified they found her dog leash, sunglasses, visor, and iPhone about 10 to 15 yards from her body, all soaked with blood.

According to Detective Clark, surveillance footage from the park showed Dr. Schnuelle entering Kiesel Park in her red Ford F-150 around 9:38 a.m. on September 6. Roughly 50 minutes later, at 10:28 a.m., a man matching Harold Dabney’s description appeared in the footage wearing a black-and-white long-sleeve shirt, dark pants, and dark Adidas shoes. Clark testified Dabney used Dr. Schnuelle’s key fob to locate her truck, got inside, and drove away at 10:29 a.m. A Flock license plate reader later captured the victim’s truck traveling along Wire Road at 10:37 a.m.

The following morning, Auburn police responded to a disorderly person call at a church on Beehive Road. There, they encountered 32-year-old Harold Rashad Dabney III of Montgomery, who appeared scratched and disheveled “as if he’d been walking through brush or briar patches.”

Detectives said Dabney was wearing a white T-shirt, blue shorts, and the same distinctive Adidas shoes seen on the surveillance video.

During a search, officers reported finding a Cash App card with Dabney’s name, $23 in cash, and — hidden inside his underwear — a debit card belonging to Dr. Schnuelle. Clark said Dabney refused to give a statement after being taken into custody.

Later that day, investigators located the victim’s truck abandoned in a wooded area off Wire Road, about 100 yards from the road in a creek bed. Officers said they found blood on the driver’s seat and steering wheel, and a fingerprint on the driver’s-side rear door matched Dabney’s thumb.

Clark testified the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences is still processing several items, including the victim’s fingernail clippings and blood-stained evidence from the scene.

Witnesses told police they saw a man matching Dabney’s description at the park that morning, and one person later identified him in a lineup.

Following testimony, Judge Jeff Tickal ruled there was probable cause to believe Dabney committed the offenses and bound the case over to a Lee County Grand Jury on two counts of capital murder during kidnapping and robbery.

Dr. Julie Schnuelle, 42, was a well-known veterinarian and Auburn University graduate who devoted her life to caring for animals and serving her community. Friends and former clients describe her as kind, compassionate, and deeply committed to every patient who crossed her path.