Trial In Death Of Secoriea Turner Starts For 2nd Suspect

ATLANTA, GA — A second man charged in the shooting death of 8-year-old Secoriea Turner — who was shot in 2020 near the site of protests following the shooting death of a Black man by police — will appear in court Monday at the Fulton County Courthouse.

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

Turner’s mother encountered a group of armed protestors when she tried to drive through the area, prosecutors said, and Julian Conley opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle, FOX Atlanta reported. A gunshot hit Secoriea Turner in the head and she was pronounced dead at an area hospital.

Conley faces two counts of felony murder, malice murder and gang-related offenses.

Last week, Jerrion McKinney was sentenced to 40 years in prison, with 20 years to serve, after pleading guilty to aggravated assault, gun and gang-related charges in the girl's death, WXIA reported.

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

McKinney on Wednesday entered Alford pleas, which maintained his innocence but admitted evidence was likely to result in a guilty verdict if the case went to trial.

Turner's parents filed a lawsuit in June 2021 against the city and officials, which is still pending, WXIA said. The lawsuit accuses city leaders of showing negligence in failing to remove armed vigilantes who gathered at the site.