Lucy Harrison, 23, from Cheshire, was visiting her dad with her partner in Texas when she was fatally shot in the chest on the day she was due to fly back home
A dad had an argument with his daughter about Donald Trump hours before fatally shooting her in his bedroom, an inquest heard. Lucy Harrison, 23, was on holiday with her boyfriend on January 10, 2025, when she was shot dead from “medium range” at the detached property in Prosper, Texas. The young woman, from Warrington in Cheshire, had arrived at Kris Harrison’s home on December 28.
According to a medical report, Lucy was shot in the chest by another individual, with five witnesses present in the house, whilst also confirming that she had no alcohol in her system at the time of her death.
Mr Harrison was heard screaming “I don’t know, I don’t know, call 911”, moments after the shooting, the inquest heard.
Although Lucy was shot, a grand jury determined no one would face prosecution over her death. A grand jury in Texas comprises 12 people who establish whether there is probable cause to believe a person committed a felony, examining all evidence in private.
Despite the person accused of committing a crime being charged by police, they remain unnamed if the grand jury decides to terminate criminal proceedings.
Alone in the bedroom
The inquest held, at Cheshire Coroner’s Court in Warrington on Tuesday, heard that Mr Harrison had shot his daughter whilst the pair were alone together in his bedroom, reports the Mirror.
During proceedings, Mr Harrison’s barrister Ana Samuel attempted to have the coroner Jacqueline Devonish recuse herself for “appearing biased” and claiming that the inquest had been conducted “in a manner more akin to a criminal investigation than a fact-finding inquiry”.
However, the counsel for mum Jane Coates, Lois Norris, stated: “Mr Harrison is the person who shot Ms Harrison.”
The inquest also heard evidence regarding Mr Harrison’s alcoholism, with Ms Devonish reading a statement from friend Ella Gowing revealing how Lucy had confided that her father had previously experienced an alcoholic seizure resulting in him being placed in an induced coma.
“She said Kris was admitted to a rehab facility and when Lucy visited him in the United States for Christmas in 2023 he appeared to be sober. He had another relapse in March 2024,” she stated.
Regarding Lucy’s fears about a handgun her father had bought, the statement noted: “She was concerned for her younger siblings, she did not want them to be around something so dangerous. She said that there was some volatility in Kris’s household which Lucy witnessed when she visited the States and [which] made her feel extremely anxious. She talked about these worries to me.”
In testimony given by Lucy’s partner, Sam Littler, he described how heavy snowfall had occurred on the day she died.
Big argument over Trump
He stated: “That morning I was technically working, The girls were outside playing in the snow but that morning Heather [Harrison, Kris’s wife] was working in the other room, I was working in the kitchen.
“It was quite wholesome. There was a big argument that morning, it was during the time Trump had been inaugurated, off the back of that Kris and Lucy had a big argument and it led to Lucy running upstairs upset.”
Sam said Lucy had asked her dad on the morning of the day she died: “How would you feel if I was the girl in that situation and I’d been sexually assaulted?” Kris replied that he had two other daughters living with him, so he wouldn’t be that concerned.
Lucy’s partner went after her to “console” her and they then returned outside to play in the snow before their scheduled departure for the airport at approximately 3pm.
Fighting back tears, Sam recalled: “We came in and got changed and got ready to go. We packed up pretty early in the morning. Lucy was emotionally drained, there were lots of ups and downs. We had packed and brought the suitcases down, they were in the garage area.
“We were ready to go half an hour, 45 minutes before [we were due to leave]. She was looking forward to seeing her mum and coming home. I was on the couch with the girls and Heather was at the breakfast table.”
Sam went on to describe how he was positioned on the sofa “with the girls” before Mr Harrison led Lucy by the hand into his bedroom, which was reported to be merely 10-15 paces from the sofa they had occupied near the breakfast table. Sam stated: “The only thing I heard was a loud bang 15 seconds after he took her by the hand.”
He explained that he initially thought it might be a joke, characterising Mr Harrison as “jovial”, but within seconds heard screams of “Heather”.
He went on: “Me and Heather looked at each other and could tell the seriousness of it. I remember running into the room and Lucy was on the floor near the entrance to the bathroom and Kris was screaming nonsense, in my recollection of it. He was screaming ‘I don’t know, I don’t know, call 911’.”
‘Force of life’
Sam dialled 911 as Mrs Harrison administered CPR to Lucy, but it wasn’t until he returned to the room, having previously gone to the front door to listen for sirens, that he noticed the gun on the bed.
When mum Jane gave evidence at the inquest, she was asked to describe her daughter. She replied: “It’s so hard to answer that with words. To capture the essence of her you had to see her to believe her – she was a force of life, sensitive, energetic, intelligent, funny and a really great human being.”
She disclosed that her daughter had sent her a text message merely 15 minutes before she was shot, saying she was packed and ready to return to the UK.
Jane said: “Whenever Lucy was over in America my contact with her was more limited and she would often wait until she got home to tell me things because she didn’t feel right to text me about things going on over there.
“The previous Christmas she texted me on the 9th of January to say she was going out with the neighbour and when she got back she told me the conversation she had had with the neighbour. A lot was about her dad’s gun and she shared concerns [about it].”
She continued: “She was not happy he had a gun – Lucy was anti-guns, guns are not our culture and she did not like him having a gun in the house.”
Lucy’s mother, Jane Coates, had earlier spoken movingly about her daughter during an emotional sit-down interview with the Liverpool ECHO. She reflected: “It’s so hard to capture who she was, and who she still is, using words because they just don’t come close.
“She was full of energy and life, and she was bold and brave. She was so emotionally intelligent, she was able to feel everything and she wasn’t ashamed of feeling everything.”
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