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Officials revealed more details about the murder of a retired Auburn University professor during a court hearing on Wednesday.
Police in Auburn, Alabama, said Julie Gard Schnuelle, 59, was found dead on Sept. 6 in a wooded area of Kiesel Park with injuries consistent with an assault.
Harold Rashad Dabney III, 28, was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Schnuelle’s death – capital murder during a kidnapping and capital murder during a theft.
AL.com reported that Lee County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Gerald Tickal found probable cause during the Wednesday hearing and sent the case to a grand jury.
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Police believe 28-year-old Harold Rashad Dabney III ambushed Julie Gard Schnuelle. (Auburn Police Department and Auburn University)
Auburn Police Detective Taylor Clark said surveillance video from the area shows Schnuelle got to the park at around 9:38 a.m. in her red Ford F-150 and brought her dog.
When police arrived at the park after receiving a 911 call reporting a pool of blood, officers found her body about 25 to 30 yards off the trail, Clark said.
Officers found two pools of blood, with Clark adding it looked like Schnuelle’s body was dragged.
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A sign shows the entrance to Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. (Reuters)
Her phone, dog leash and a visor were found around 10 to 15 yards from her body, Clark said, adding that the visor and leash were covered in blood.
Clark said an autopsy revealed that the former Auburn professor was stabbed seven times with a bladed object, with wounds to the neck, chest, right hand and forearm.
The police officer said video surveillance from the park’s parking lot shows someone believed to be Dabney trying to locate the former professor’s car, then driving away with it at around 10:39 a.m.
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Julie Gard Schnuelle was a retired Auburn University professor. (John Korduner/Replay Photos )
Clark said the weapon used in the alleged murder hasn’t yet been located.
Schnuelle was a professor emerita at Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine from 2003 to 2021, when she retired, the university said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.
“The Auburn University community extends its sincere condolences to Gard Schnuelle’s family and loved ones for their tragic loss,” a spokeswoman said.
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Ashley Rutter, a former student of Schnuelle, told AL.com the professor went to Kiesel Park every day.
“She ran there every day,” Rutter said. “She was always so welcoming. She was spunky and ready to make jokes. But if she saw something she didn’t like, she would always stand up for you and for herself.”