The mother of a 23-year-old woman who was fatally shot by her father in Texas has spoken publicly in the wake of her daughter’s death.
Lucy Harrison, from Cheshire in the UK, travelled to Prosper, Texas, in January 2025 to visit her dad, Kris Harrison. She was joined on the trip by her boyfriend, Sam Littler.
According to reports, the incident happened on the day Lucy and Sam were due to fly back to England. It followed a tense argument between Lucy and her father, which was said to be about Donald Trump.
In police bodycam footage, Kris alleged the shooting was accidental and claimed the gun discharged as he was showing it to his daughter.
Kris told one of the officers: “We were getting ready to go to the airport and we were talking about guns. She said ‘Have you got a gun?’ and I said yes, I got it out and it just went off.
“She stood there as I pulled it out; it went off.”
Kris was initially investigated on suspicion of manslaughter, but the case did not result in criminal charges. A Texas grand jury ultimately determined Lucy’s death was accidental — a conclusion her mother, Jane Coates, has described as difficult to accept.
Jane has since spoken about her belief that her daughter was failed, and said she is determined to challenge what she sees as unresolved issues in the case.
“I feel that she has been so let down. I feel anger, but my anger isn’t shouting and raging,” she said.
“I have a steely determination to call this out and to make sure the truth is heard.”
She also alleged that findings from an investigation indicated Lucy was standing further away from her father than he initially told police.
“It’s incredibly frustrating because there was physical evidence there, that there was an autopsy that said Lucy was shot through the heart at a downward trajectory,” Jane added.
Jane said authorities produced a diagram as part of an attempt to piece together the shooting, including the position of the gun and where Lucy fell after being shot.
Kris, who told police he was an alcoholic, said he had relapsed before the incident, while continuing to maintain the firearm discharged accidentally.
Jane is now urging US authorities to revisit the case, pointing to a conclusion reached in the UK. Cheshire Senior Coroner Jacqueline Devonish ruled that Lucy died as a result of an ‘unlawful killing.’
“I am so grateful for our UK coroner for looking at all the evidence. She had all the evidence and she came to that unlawful killing conclusion,” she added.
“I feel anger that the police actually took the time to draw this diagram, to see the measurements, to see where Lucy fell in relation to where the shell casing was. For me it’s like they had chosen to not follow the physical evidence.”