ATLANTA — Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the long-delayed trial of Julian Conley, the man accused of fatally shooting 8-year-old Secoriea Turner in 2020 near the burned-out Wendy’s on University Avenue.

Secoriea was riding in the backseat of an SUV with her mother and a family friend in July 2020 when the vehicle encountered a makeshift gang blockade near the site where Rayshard Brooks had been killed by Atlanta police weeks earlier. Prosecutors say Conley, then 19, opened fire on the SUV, killing Secoriea.

The trial comes after multiple appeals to the Georgia Supreme Court delayed proceedings. Conley recently rejected a plea deal of life without parole plus 25 years. His trial is expected to last about two weeks.

The child’s parents say they are bracing themselves for difficult days ahead but remain determined to honor their daughter’s memory. “Nothing can bring Secoriea back, this is life long, we will continue to fight for justice,” her mother said. The family has also launched a scholarship in Secoriea’s name at Spelman College, where she had dreamed of studying one day.

A second man, Jerrion McKinney, was sentenced earlier this year to 40 years in prison with 20 to serve after pleading guilty to aggravated assault, gun, and gang-related charges connected to Turner’s death. He was not charged with murder.

Family attorney Mawuli Davis said the start of Conley’s trial is bittersweet for the Turners. “It’s just going to be hard but this was a way for them to really celebrate her before they have to do the hard, which is sit in court and go through all of what they have to go through over the next couple of weeks,” Davis said.

In 2021, Secoriea’s parents also filed a lawsuit against the City of Atlanta and its officials, alleging they failed to remove armed individuals from the Wendy’s site after Brooks’ death, which they argue contributed to their daughter’s killing. That lawsuit remains pending.

The case is heading to a grand jury.

WSB’s Veronica Water’s contributed to this story