Mother Demands New Investigation Into Daughter's Death After Father Allegedly Argued About Trump

The mother of a young woman fatally shot by her father following a political argument is calling for a new investigation into the incident, asserting that her daughter's death was not an accident. Jane Coates, the ex-wife of Kris Harrison, the man who killed their 23-year-old daughter Lucy Harrison on January 10, 2025, in Texas, is traveling from England to demand that the Collin County District Attorney’s Office revisit the case.

Kris Harrison has maintained that his Glock 9mm pistol accidentally discharged as he was removing it from a box, striking Lucy. However, this account is contested by Coates, investigators, and a UK coroner.

Lucy Harrison and her boyfriend, Sam Littler, had traveled from the United Kingdom to visit her father and younger half-sisters in Texas. According to Littler, Lucy and her father engaged in a significant argument about then-President Trump, who was on the cusp of his second inauguration, hours before the shooting occurred.

Harrison, a telecommunications executive, was not charged with manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide after a grand jury classified Lucy's death as an accident. Coates expressed her desire for the truth and wants independent experts to be heard by the authorities investigating her daughter's death.

Harrison told police in a video statement presented at a UK inquest that Lucy had asked if he owned a gun, and when he retrieved it from its case, it “just went off.”

However, Craig Miller, a retired deputy chief in Dallas with over three decades of homicide investigation experience, disputes Harrison's narrative. Miller, who reviewed bodycam footage, police reports, and autopsy findings, stated that guns do not discharge without the trigger being pulled. He suggested that if Harrison was showing the gun to his daughter, he must have pulled the trigger, regardless of his familiarity with the weapon.

Miller also noted inconsistencies with Harrison's account, pointing out that the bullet entered Lucy's chest directly and at a downward trajectory, which he found not to align with the described scenario of the gun accidentally firing from a box.

Harrison, in a statement from his attorney, previously acknowledged the weight of his actions and the loss he carries. The Senior Coroner for Cheshire, Jacqueline Devonish, who presided over the UK inquest, described Harrison as a "functioning alcoholic" and concluded that Lucy was "unlawfully killed," attributing her death to gross negligence manslaughter. While this ruling has significant weight in the UK, it does not hold legal standing in U.S. courts.

Miller further raised concerns about Harrison's initial interaction with responding officers, where he reportedly denied drinking, only for it to emerge later that he had consumed a large amount of wine that day. Miller believes Harrison's inconsistency and potential intoxication at the time warranted further forensic examination, including blood tests and gun residue tests, as well as a thorough review of cell phone data.

Coates is being assisted by lawyer Radd Seiger, known for his work in cases involving British citizens abroad, such as the Harry Dunn case. Seiger criticized the authorities for not engaging with the family's serious questions about the investigation.

Coates is seeking justice for her daughter, remembering Lucy as a funny, kind, loving, and vibrant individual with dreams and a future that was tragically cut short. She hopes for her daughter to be remembered as a person, not just a case.