Secoriea Turner: Man Sentenced In Shooting Death Of GA Girl, 8

Updated 4:38 p.m.

ATLANTA, GA — A man on Friday afternoon was sentenced to life in prison without parole plus 25 years in the killing of 8-year-old Secoriea Turner, who was fatally shot in 2020 near the site of protests following the shooting death of a Black man by police in south Atlanta.

News broke around 4 p.m. that a jury found Julian Conley, 25, guilty of murder, aggravated assault and two gang counts, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Both Conley's mother and Turner's family spoke at the sentencing.

“This is obviously an emotional case," Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rachelle Carnesale said, per the AJC. "It’s been difficult to try and hear."

During sentencing, Carnesale said she hoped the verdict brought closure.

Turner died on July 4, 2020, as she sat in her mother’s Jeep near a Wendy’s in south Atlanta. The fast-food restaurant at the intersection of Pryor Road and University Avenue had become the site of weeks of protests following the police killing of Rayshard Brooks.

RELATED: Trial In Death Of Secoriea Turner Starts For 2nd Suspect

Turner’s mother encountered a group of armed protestors when she tried to drive through the area, prosecutors said, and Conley opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle, FOX Atlanta reported.

A total of eight bullets hit the SUV belonging to Turner's mother at a roadblock, the AJC reported, adding the shooting was captured on video.

A gunshot hit Turner in the head, and she was pronounced dead at a local hospital, reports say.

While speaking to the judge at the sentencing, Conley's mother said he was present at the march that day to support the Black community.

Jerrion McKinney recently entered an Alford plea and was sentenced to 40 years in prison, with 20 years to serve, after pleading guilty to aggravated assault, gun and gang-related charges in Turner's death, WXIA reported.

Prosecutors said both Conley and McKinney were associated with the Bloods criminal street gang, WXIA said.

Patch regional editor Deb Belt contributed to this report.