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Ex-Alabama professor Schnuelle's murder: Shocking details emerge as prosecutors seek death penalty for suspect
Ex-Alabama professor murder: Rashad Dabney III, 28, is charged with the capital murder of Dr. Julee Gard Schnuelle, 59, who was attacked while walking her dog.
The suspect in the murder of Dr. Julee Gard Schnuelle, a former Alabama’s Auburn University, is being sought by authorities for the death sentence after they disclosed graphic new information about how she was attacked and fatally stabbed while walking her dog.
Harold Rashad Dabney III, 28, was indicted for two counts of capital murder on Monday after he appeared before the court.
Alabama professor's murder updates: Here is what investigators said
Investigators suspect that an unknown individual ambushed Schnuelle, a 59-year-old retired veterinarian and lecturer at Auburn University in Alabama, when she was on a walkway with her dog in Auburn's Kiesel Park on Saturday morning.
She was repeatedly stabbed after being pulled several hundred feet off the main pathway and into a forested area, as per WRBL, which cited arrest warrants. Her dog was discovered close to her body, but unharmed.
According to the documents, the murderer stole Schnuelle's keys and drove off in her red Ford F-150, which was later discovered deserted in a creek bank barely five miles from Kiesel Park, NY POST reported.
A day later, Dabney was taken into custody when a 911 call was made regarding a suspicious-looking man located roughly two miles from the truck's abandoned location.
All about Rashad Dabney III and his court appearance
According to WRBL, the alleged murderer was previously taken into custody in Virginia in December 2023 on an arms allegation involving a shotgun that had been sawed off.
He reportedly made only one court appearance in 2016 for a traffic violation in Montgomery.
During his appearance in the court in Lee Countyon Monday, he told District Judge Jeff Tickal that he couldn't pay for an attorney. He was wearing a black-and-white prison custome.
Jessica Ventiere, the district attorney for Lee County, stated that she will pursue the death penalty.
Auburn University issues statement
She served as the head veterinarian for Alabama and Mississippi for the US Department of Agriculture from 2003 to 2021, as per the University.
“Even in retirement, she remained an active and valued member of the College of Veterinary Medicine family,” Auburn stated on Monday in a statement.
