AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) – Harold Rashad Dabney III, 28, the man charged on Sep. 7 with two counts of capital murder regarding the death of Dr. Julie Gard Schnuelle, has his preliminary hearing scheduled for Oct. 8 at 10:30 AM, in Lee County District Judge Jeff Tickal’s courtroom, where Tickal will determine if the case will move forward to a grand jury.
Lee County District Attorney Jessica Ventiere will seek the death penalty for Dabney’s charges – murder during a robbery and murder during a kidnapping.
Previously, on Sept. 8, Dabney appeared before Judge Tickal for his initial hearing. Judge Tickal appointed attorneys Andrew Stanley and Arthur Vaughn to represent Dabney, after Dabney informed the judge he could not afford an attorney. No bond was granted, and no cameras were allowed on the Sept. 8 hearing. Dabney is being held at Lee County Jail. Lee County Jail declined to give any information regarding possible sentencing.
Authorities said that Schnuelle’s body was found on the afternoon of Sept. 6 in a wooded area of Kiesel park. Investigators said that her death was caused by an assault with a sharp object. A spokesperson for the Lee County Coroner’s Office confirmed that her death was caused by "multiple sharp force injuries.”
Investigators say that Dabney stole Schnuelle’s keys and her red Ford F-150, which was later found in a creek bed near County Road 137, less than 5 miles from Kiesel Park.
Investigators also say that crime scene evidence tied him directly to the killing, however investigators have not revealed whether anything was collected during a crime scene search.
Dabney is listed as living on Dunford Avenue in Auburn, however, investigators say his driver’s license listed a Montgomery address. Details of the search on the Dunford Avenue home have not been officially released.
Dabney had no other court cases other than a 2016 speeding ticket issued in Montgomery. Dabney has also been arrested in Virginia Beach regarding a weapons charge for a sawed-off shotgun.
Dabney also worked for a now-defunct trucking business, Excellent Carriage LLC, in Montgomery in 2024. A Facebook post from 2021 displays the hiring of Dabney as a full-time maintenance mechanic for the Montgomery Housing authority. The post states that Dabney had worked for a year before becoming a permanent employee. The president of the Montgomery Housing Authority confirms that Dabney’s employment ended in December 2022, with no disciplinary actions on his file and with good standing.
Dr. Schnuelle is survived by her husband Archie Schnuelle, a marriage and family therapist whom she met while jogging in Kiesel Park. They married in 2015.
Schnuelle was not only an Auburn professor respected nationwide in her field of veterinary education, but a wife, mother, daughter and friend.
“A memorial service celebrating Julie’s life will be held at 12:30 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Opelika on Saturday, September 13, 2025. A visitation period will follow the service until 3:30 p.m. The church is located at 301 South 8th Street, in Opelika, AL 36801. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home of Opelika, AL.,” according to Schnuelle's obituary.
EETV will report further updates as the case continues to unfold upon the Auburn community.
