A Birmingham man has been convicted of killing a 14-year-old girl on her way to school and permanently disabling her mother who was also injured in the shooting.

A Jefferson County jury on Thursday convicted 40-year-old Bruce Lanier Austin of capital murder in the slaying of Moriah Quib-Marquez, a seventh grader who excelled as a student and an athlete at Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School.

Austin was also found guilty of discharging a firearm into a vehicle and attempted murder in the wounding of Moriah’s mother, Rosa.

Austin, who maintained his innocence and took the stand in his own defense, turned down a plea agreement prior to trial that would have given him a life sentence with the possibility of parole.

Following the conviction, Jefferson County Circuit Judge Kandice Pickett se

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