Mum's plea to reopen case into daughter's shooting

Mum's plea to reopen case into daughter's shooting

The mother of a woman who was shot and killed by her father in Texas has called for the case to be reopened as she does not believe US detectives investigated the case with "rigour and scrutiny".

Lucy Harrison, 23, was alone in a room with her father, Kris Harrison, at his home in the town of Prosper when she was shot in the chest on 10 January 2025.

Police investigated her death as possible manslaughter but no criminal case was brought against her father after a grand jury declined to indict him.

Lucy's mother Jane Coates said she did not believe Prosper Police Department "did the right thing" and she has submitted a complaint. The Town of Prosper said it had referred the case for review.

A grand jury is a group of citizens who determine whether there is enough evidence to pursue a prosecution.

The local district attorney's office confirmed in June 2025 "the grand jury voted a no-bill, which means there will be no criminal charges related to the death".

Jane, from Warrington, said: "The absolute goal is to be able to reopen Lucy's case.

"I know that statistics are against us in terms of that, but that does not mean that we can't try.

"I think some days I have a thousand little fires inside of me, and other days you just feel completely spent.

"But then I hear Lucy saying 'Come on mum, you've got to do the right thing for me', however uncomfortable that might be, however tough that might be."

Lucy and her boyfriend Sam Littler, who had been visiting her father and his family, were due to fly home later on the day of her death.

"In the days that followed, for me, it was too much to actually try and process how it had happened," said Jane.

"Just the fact that Lucy had gone, and even now when I'm talking about this, it still doesn't feel real."

In February, an inquest into Lucy's death, which was held in the UK, heard her father - described as a "functioning alcoholic" - had been secretly drinking wine on the day on the day of the shooting without the rest of his family being aware.

"I feel an anger that my daughter was tested for alcohol and for drugs with her autopsy, yet the person that shot her wasn't, and how is that fair?" said Jane.

Kris Harrison declined to attend the inquest to give evidence, but in written statements said the gun just "went off" as he lifted it out of a case to show his daughter.

However, the senior coroner for Cheshire, Jacqueline Devonish, concluded Lucy had been unlawfully killed.

She said based on the evidence she had heard, Kris Harrison's actions had been "reckless" and amounted to gross negligence manslaughter.

The inquest heard a grand jury in the US had determined there was insufficient evidence to charge anyone in connection with Lucy's death.

"I really don't believe that the Prosper Police Department did the right thing," said Jane. "They did not investigate with rigour and scrutiny.

"I couldn't quite believe that, for example, that they had drawn the diagram of the room where Lucy was shot and it was really clear from looking at that diagram that Kris's version of events just could not have been valid."

The Town of Prosper said: "After a thorough investigation related to the tragic incident that occurred on January 10, 2025, the Prosper Police Department referred this case to the Collin County District Attorney's Office for review and any potential further action.

"As a normal practice, we do not comment once a case has been referred, due to the possibility of ongoing investigation or pending litigation."

Jane also said support from the Foreign Office needed to be improved.

Warrington South MP Sarah Hall said Lucy's death had "exposed serious gaps in the support available to British families when a loved one dies abroad in suspicious circumstances".

She said: "Families like Jane's are often left navigating complex foreign legal systems while dealing with unimaginable grief.

"Too often, support depends on discretion and whether someone happens to intervene on their behalf."

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: "We will always look to learn lessons from cases such as this one to improve the consular support we offer to other families in the future."

Paying tribute to her daughter, who achieved a first-class honours degree and had gone on to secure her dream job as a fashion buyer, Jane said: "She was such a force of life.