By Yolanda Jones of The Commercial Appeal

A judge dismissed a murder charge Thursday against a transgender woman accused of shooting and killing a pregnant 15-year-old girl last month, but the District Attorney's office said it still plans to present the case to a grand jury.

Terry Turner, 24, was arrested by police in connection to the March 14 shooting death of Vianca Harris at a Whitehaven apartment.

Turner's attorney, Claiborne Ferguson, said the charges were dismissed after witnesses failed to come to a preliminary hearing Thursday.

"We were set for preliminary hearing, but the state was unable to get their witnesses in and so since they couldn't get their witnesses in, the case was dismissed," Ferguson said.

Ferguson added, "It is not gone away. It is just that they were not able to make probable cause at the preliminary hearing, and once they get their witnesses together, they will get an indictment and prosecute again. At some point they will issue a warrant and pick Terry back up and start all over again. The question will be whether they can get their witnesses."

Larry Buser, spokesman for Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich, said a missing witness happens periodically in cases.

"The case still will go to the grand jury for indictment. Under the law, defendants are entitled to a preliminary hearing, even though the outcome makes no difference in whether it will go to the grand jury," Buser said Friday.

Friday, Turner, was still in the Shelby County Jail under a $100 bond on charges of driving on a suspended license and the murder charge. She was slated to be released after the charges were dismissed, her attorney said.

When she was arrested, police said Turner told investigators the shooting was accidental. Turner alleged that Harris was playing with a 12-gauge shotgun when it fired, hitting her in the head as Turner tried to take the gun away from the teen, according to arrest records.

A witness to the shooting disputed that claim, however, according to an arrest affidavit.

Turner was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in Harris' death at the Valley Forge Apartments in the 100 block of Hillview Avenue, off Neely Road.

When police arrived around 1 a.m., they found the teen slumped over the couch with a gunshot wound behind her left ear, according to the arrest affidavit.

Harris was pronounced dead on the scene by paramedics with the fire department. Her death was ruled a homicide by the medical examiner's office.

Police said Harris was four to five weeks' pregnant when she was killed.