Mother Demands New Investigation After Daughter's Death in Texas

The mother of a British woman shot and killed in Texas is demanding a new investigation into the January 10, 2025, incident. Lucy Harrison, 23, died after being shot in the chest at her father's home in Prosper, Texas. Her father, Kris Harrison, 52, claimed the gun accidentally discharged when he removed it from its container.

A grand jury in Collin County declined to indict Harrison on charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, ruling the death an accident. However, Lucy's mother, Jane Coates, and her ex-husband, is calling on the Collin County District Attorney’s Office to reopen the investigation.

"I simply want the truth about what happened," Coates told the New York Post. "I want the people responsible for investigating her death to sit down with us and listen to what we have been told by independent experts."

Lucy's boyfriend, Sam Littler, testified that an argument had occurred between Kris Harrison and his daughter regarding the impending inauguration of then-President-elect Donald Trump. Littler stated that Kris Harrison then led Lucy to a bedroom to show her a gun, and shortly thereafter, a gunshot was heard.

Kris Harrison had allegedly been drinking on the day of the shooting. Police bodycam footage reportedly showed him denying he had been drinking, though it was later determined he had consumed a 17-ounce carton of white wine that day.

A UK-based inquest concluded that Lucy died by gross negligence manslaughter, a finding described as similar to involuntary manslaughter in the U.S. The Senior Coroner for Cheshire, Jacqueline Devonish, stated that firing the gun directly at Lucy would have required pointing it at her, without checking for bullets, and pulling the trigger. Devonish referred to Kris Harrison as a "functioning alcoholic" and concluded he "unlawfully killed" his daughter.

Retired Texas homicide detective Craig Miller also questioned the official account, telling The Post, "Guns just don’t go off. The only person who could have fired the gun is the dad." He further noted that the location of the gunshot wound on Lucy's body was inconsistent with the father's explanation.

Despite these assertions, the Prosper Police Department stated it would not reopen its investigation, citing the grand jury's decision. Coates, however, is traveling to the U.S. from the UK with the hope of persuading prosecutors to reconsider.

"There isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t think about Lucy and everything she should have had in front of her," Coates told The Post. "I want people to see her as a person, not just as a case. She was funny, kind, loving and full of life. She had dreams. She had people who loved her deeply. She deserved a future."

Coates' lawyer, Radd Seiger, expressed frustration that authorities have refused to meet with the mother. "The authorities say the investigation was thorough and complete. But where is the evidence that the accidental discharge explanation was properly tested? Where is the scene reconstruction? Where is the toxicology on Harrison, a self-confessed alcoholic who was drinking from very early in the morning on the day Lucy was killed, with officers reportedly smelling alcohol on his breath? Where is the gunshot residue evidence? Where is the full forensic picture? Where is the ballistics work? Where is the evidence showing that every obvious line of enquiry was pursued? The authorities simply cannot, and so far will not, answer these questions," Seiger stated. He added that they have come to Dallas to "seek justice" and urged authorities to "step forward and do the right thing."