Mother of British woman shot dead in Texas seeks fresh investigation

Jane Coates, the mother of a British woman shot and killed in Texas, has traveled to the United States to urge prosecutors to reopen the investigation into her daughter Lucy Harrison's death. Coates traveled more than 4,000 miles to the Collin County District Attorney's Office in Texas, seeking a new examination of the case.

Harrison, a 23-year-old fashion buyer from Warrington, Cheshire, was fatally shot on January 10, 2025, at her father Kris Harrison's home in Prosper, a town north of Dallas. Police initially treated the incident as an accident, and Kris Harrison, 52, was not arrested. He claimed his gun discharged accidentally in his master bedroom as he was showing it to his daughter shortly before she was due to depart for the UK.

A Texas grand jury subsequently found no grounds to indict Kris Harrison, ruling the death an accident. However, a UK coroner later concluded at an inquest that Harrison had been unlawfully killed.

Coates contends that the initial investigation was insufficient, highlighting several alleged oversights. She pointed out the absence of toxicology tests, despite officers reportedly smelling alcohol on her ex-husband at the time of the shooting. She also raised concerns about the lack of gunshot residue testing, inconsistencies in her ex-husband's account, and unanswered questions regarding the bullet's trajectory and entry wound.

"These are not minor errors or omissions. They are fundamental to any homicide investigation and they simply weren't done," Coates stated, emphasizing that these failures were critical to a thorough homicide inquiry.

Her concerns are supported by Craig Miller, a former Dallas police chief and now a law enforcement expert witness, who reviewed the case files. Miller found that investigators appeared to neglect several key lines of inquiry and did not adhere to nationally accepted investigative best practices.

Coates stated that her appeals for meetings with both Prosper Police and the Collin County District Attorney's Office have been denied. She expressed her desire for officials to meet with her and address her concerns, saying, "I just wish they cared enough to meet me… I have lost my daughter. I can never get her back."

Radd Seiger, spokesperson for the Justice for Lucy Harrison campaign, stated that Coates felt compelled to travel to Texas due to a lack of answers. "We decided to come to Texas to appeal directly to the American people about the gross injustice in Lucy's case," he said, adding that they have received considerable support from Texans.

Prosper Police and the Collin County District Attorney's Office have maintained that the investigation into Harrison's death was thorough and complete. The campaign is planning a series of media appearances and public engagements in Dallas to increase pressure on local authorities to revisit the case. A fundraising campaign to support the family's travel costs has raised over £7,000.