COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — Two siblings appeared in Superior Court in Columbus last week, filing for immunity in the Staunton Drive shooting death of 17-year-old Markayla Marshall in March of 2022.

Defendants Eurica and Ceonna Turpin filed a motion to not go forward with the trial, saying they acted in self-defense.

Superior Court Judge Bobby Peters has now denied their motion and the case is proceeding.

According to court documents, the court finds that the defendants did not meet the burden of proof. This means the defense did not convince the judge beyond a reasonable doubt that the Turpin sisters acted in self defense.

Eurica is being charged with one count of murder and two counts of aggravated assault. Ceonna is being charged with malice murder, felony murder and two counts of aggravated assault under Senate Bill 440. The bill states juveniles who commit certain felonies can be tried as adults.

Previous court testimony revealed that Marshall and Ceonna had a disagreement because Marshall allegedly made a derogatory comment about Ceonna’s grandmother.

According to the video footage pulled by the prosecution, Ceonna could be seen being pepper sprayed by Marshall. Ceonna then fired the gun, killing Marshall and wounding others.

Eurica is being represented by defense attorney, Anthony Johnson. Johnson says although video evidence pulled by the prosecution can typically pose a threat to the defense, he believes it is beneficial to his client.

“We think that the video of the actual incident absolutely works in our favor because that shows Ceonna getting pepper sprayed,” said Johnson. “It shows the young lady who’s actually walking forward. There are other videos that come into play that might have happened before or after the incident. From our understanding, it’s really just trash talking. But when you have a loss of life, that can take a different context, even if it’s coming from a 16 year old child.”

The jury will be selected and trial is set to begin Monday, February 6th.