Man found guilty of murder in 2020 killing of 8-year-old Secoriea Turner
in Atlanta
[September 27, 2025]
ATLANTA (AP) — A jury in Atlanta on Friday found a man
guilty of murder and other charges and was sentenced to life in prison
in the July 2020 shooting death of an 8-year-old girl who was riding in
an SUV near a weekslong protest at the site where police had fatally
shot a Black man.
Julian Conley, 25, was convicted of murder, aggravated assault and
gang-related charges in the killing of Secoriea Turner. Murder carries a
mandatory life sentence in Georgia. The judge is left to decide whether
or not to grant the possibility of parole, which is not allowed until 30
years of the sentence has been served.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rachelle Carnesale sentenced Conley
to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole on the murder
charge because of his “reckless disregard for the life of this child.”
He was also sentenced to an additional 25 years on other charges.
A second man, Jerrion McKinney, earlier this month received a 40-year
sentence, with 20 years to serve in prison after pleading guilty to
aggravated assault, gun and gang-related charges in the girl’s death.
Tears ran down the face of Charmaine Turner, Secoriea's mother, as the
jury foreperson read the verdict. She and the girl's father, Secoriey
Williamson, both urged the judge to give Conley the maximum sentence
possible, saying they had seen no remorse.
Conley's mother, Robyn Conley, told the judge, “Julian would like me to
say that he is truly sorry for the loss of Secoriea Turner.” She urged
Carnesale to show leniency and to impose a sentence that reflects the
five years her son has already served and his potential for growth.
She turned to face Secoriea's family in the courtroom and said, “My
family's heart and my heart goes out to you always.”
Carnesale said she appreciated the words of both families, acknowledging
the suffering on both sides. She described the case as “fraught with
conflict” and “a tragedy.” She said videos shown during trial showed
Conley brandishing a gun and acting as a “self-appointed enforcer.”
Secoriea was riding in the back of a Jeep with her mother and her
mother’s friend on July 4, 2020, near the Wendy’s restaurant where
Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old Black man, had been killed by a white
police officer weeks earlier. Protesters had been rallying against
police brutality nationwide since the May 2020 murder of George Floyd by
Minneapolis police.
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The restaurant was set ablaze the night after Brooks’ death, and
protesters camped at the site for weeks afterward. Not far away, armed
men had been occupying makeshift barricades, blocking roads and turning
some drivers away. Police said the SUV Secoriea was riding in was
driving near one of the barricades when at least one person shot into
the vehicle.
Detectives testified during the trial that police and city officials had
abandoned the area at night out of concern over the potential for
escalating violence, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Most of the people camped out in the area were activists protesting
recent high-profile killings of Black people. But prosecutors said on
the night Secoriea was killed, a group of Bloods criminal street gang
members, including Conley, was present and aimed to “terrorize people in
the community,” the newspaper reported.
Jurors saw video of a man pointing an assault rifle at a couple, who
were turned away from the intersection just before the shooting that
killed Secoriea. They also saw video of when prosecutors say Conley
fired eight bullets into the Jeep the girl was riding in, the newspaper
reported.
Prosecutor Adam Abbate said Conley was the man in a red shirt seen in
surveillance video from businesses. Defense attorney Arnold Ragus said
some witnesses, including the girl's mother, told police there were
multiple shooters in black.
Conley was a gang member but did not fire the shot that killed the girl,
Ragus told jurors, according to the Journal-Constitution. Ragus blamed
city officials and police for allowing dangerous conditions to develop.
McKinney, who wasn’t charged with murder, on Sept. 10 entered Alford
pleas, which allows a person to maintain his innocence while
acknowledging that it is in his best interest to plead guilty. He told
the judge that he didn’t hurt Secoriea, saying he has children and feels
sorry about what happened to the girl, the Journal-Constitution
reported.
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