Atlanta man found guilty of murder in 2020 killing of 8-year-old Secoriea Turner; life sentence

ATLANTA — A Fulton County jury found Julian Conley, 25, guilty on Friday of murder, aggravated assault and gang-related charges in the July 4, 2020, killing of Secoriea Turner, an 8-year-old girl who was riding in an SUV near a weeks-long protest at the site where police had fatally shot a Black man weeks earlier.

The shooting occurred near the Wendy’s restaurant where Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old Black man, had been killed by a white police officer weeks earlier, fueling protests across the nation. Secoriea Turner was in the back seat of a Jeep with her mother and the mother’s friend when shots rang out as protesters and armed individuals had set up barricades in the area. Investigators said the vehicle was near one of the barricades when bullets struck the Jeep.

Prosecutors described Conley as part of a group of Bloods members who were present that night and who aimed to terrorize people in the community. Jurors watched surveillance footage showing a man in a red shirt who prosecutors said was Conley, pointing an assault rifle at a couple turned away from the intersection just before the shooting. They also saw video prosecutors said showed Conley firing eight rounds into the Jeep carrying Secoriea and two other passengers. The defense contended that there were multiple shooters in black clothing that night and that Conley fired a weapon, but did not necessarily kill Secoriea; defense attorney Arnold Ragus urged jurors to focus on the broader context of the temporary breakdown of order in a volatile area.

Georgia law requires a murder charge to carry a mandatory life sentence; parole eligibility generally comes only after 30 years served. Judge Rachelle Carnesale sentenced Conley to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder, plus an additional 25 years on the other charges. In announcing the verdict and sentence, Carnesale acknowledged the tragedy of the case and the conflicting emotions of everyone involved.

A second man, Jerrion McKinney, had pleaded guilty earlier in September to aggravated assault, gun and gang-related charges tied to the same death and received a 40-year sentence, with 20 years to serve behind bars, under an Alford plea that allows a defendant to maintain innocence while acknowledging it is in his best interests to plead guilty.

The trial and its proceedings unfolded amid the broader national context of protests sparked by the May 2020 death of George Floyd and the adjacent national conversation about policing, civil rights, and community safety. Prosecutors said the night Secoriea Turner was killed featured a group of heavily armed individuals occupying barricades and traveling in small groups, while city officials and police had largely stepped back from the area after earlier violence.

Turner’s mother, Charmaine Turner, was in the courtroom for the verdict and wept as the foreperson read the verdict. Secoriea’s father, Secoriey Williamson, likewise addressed the judge, asking for accountability. The defendants’ families also attended; Conley’s mother spoke softly in support of her son, while maintaining that the family had suffered too.

Carnesale described the case as fraught with conflict and a tragedy that highlighted the dangers of a jurisdiction in which peaceful demonstrators and armed individuals could end up in close proximity. She noted videos showing Conley brandishing a firearm and acting as a self-appointed enforcer, while also acknowledging that the night featured chaotic conditions and complicated responsibility among numerous parties.

The shooting’s impact extended beyond Secoriea Turner’s death, influencing ongoing debates about public safety, protest management, and youth protection in neighborhoods affected by violent confrontations during demonstrations. While the verdict brings a sense of closure for some in the Turner family, lawyers and community members alike say the events of July 2020 continue to shape conversations about accountability and safety in Atlanta and similar cities confronting similar fervor and risk during periods of civil unrest.