A man arrested in the killing of a retired Auburn University professor was previously charged in Virginia Beach with a gun-related felony but pleaded to misdemeanors under a deal that kept him out of prison, court and police records show.
Auburn police said 26-year-old Harold Rashad Dabney III was arrested Sunday on two counts of capital murder after 59-year-old Julie Gard Schnuelle was found dead Saturday in a wooded area of Kiesel Park with injuries consistent with an assault. Officers responded to a 911 call reporting a deceased individual; Schnuelle, who was walking her dog, was found dead and the dog was unharmed. Police said detectives developed observations that led them to believe Dabney had involvement in the homicide and that Schnuelle’s Ford F-150 had been taken and later recovered.
An arrest warrant and Virginia Beach police reports reviewed by news outlets show Dabney was detained on Dec. 27, 2023, after being found sleeping in a car in a business parking lot. The officer wrote that Dabney, described as homeless at the time, was sleeping in the driver’s seat and appeared to be intoxicated, declining to speak further. When the vehicle was searched, officers reported finding a handgun without a serial number concealed under the driver’s seat, a sawed-off shotgun in the back seat, white pills and an open container. He was charged with felony possession or use of a sawed-off shotgun and several misdemeanors, including removing or altering a firearm’s identification, unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon, public intoxication and trespassing.
Schnuelle, a professor emerita at Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine from 2003 to 2021, had most recently served as the Area Veterinarian in Charge for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Alabama and Mississippi, the university said. "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," the university said in a statement extending condolences to her family and loved ones.
Court records indicate prosecutors later dropped the felony sawed-off-shotgun charge and allowed Dabney to plead guilty to the misdemeanors. The felony, if prosecuted and resulting in a conviction, would have carried a 2-to-10-year prison term under state law. Dabney was sentenced on the misdemeanors to 12 months of unsupervised probation. Records reviewed by local outlets note he had no prior criminal record before the December 2023 incident and had held a job several months earlier but was unemployed at the time of the Virginia Beach arrest. Police also noted he refused to swear or affirm to tell the truth at a bail hearing.
Auburn police said Dabney was arrested Sunday following an 8:30 a.m. call reporting a "suspicious person." In a news release they said detectives made observations that led them to believe Dabney had involvement with the homicide. He is being held in the Lee County Jail without bond while the investigation continues.
Prosecutorial decisions to offer plea agreements that reduce felony charges to misdemeanors are common across jurisdictions and have been a subject of policy discussion at state and national levels. Attorneys and lawmakers have argued about the balance between case workloads, evidence strength and public safety when negotiating pleas, and such decisions can shape whether defendants serve prison time. Authorities in Alabama said the current matter remains under investigation and that additional information will be released as the case progresses.