British woman shot dead by father after Trump argument in Texas, coroner rules unlawful killing

A British coroner has ruled that a 23-year-old woman who was fatally shot by her father at his Texas home after an argument about President Trump died as a result of unlawful killing.

Lucy Harrison, a fashion buyer from Warrington, Cheshire, was shot in the chest on Jan. 10, 2025, at her father’s home in Prosper, a suburb of Dallas. She had been visiting with her boyfriend, Sam Littler, during a holiday trip to the United States.

Senior Coroner Jacqueline Devonish concluded Wednesday that Harrison’s death constituted unlawful killing on the grounds of gross negligence manslaughter.

The Fatal Day

According to testimony at Cheshire Coroner’s Court, the tragedy unfolded on what was supposed to be Harrison’s final day in Texas before returning to the United Kingdom.

Mr. Littler told the inquest that earlier that morning, Harrison and her father, Kris Harrison, had engaged in a heated argument about Mr. Trump, who was preparing to be inaugurated for his second presidential term.

During the dispute, Harrison asked her father, “How would you feel if I was the girl in that situation and I’d been sexually assaulted?” Mr. Harrison reportedly responded that he had two other daughters living with him, so it would not upset him that much.

Later that day, approximately half an hour before the couple was scheduled to leave for the airport, Kris Harrison took his daughter by the hand and led her into his ground-floor bedroom. About 15 seconds later, Mr. Littler heard a loud bang.

“I remember running into the room and Lucy was lying on the floor near the entrance to the bathroom and Kris was just screaming, just sort of nonsense,” Mr. Littler testified.

Father’s Account

Kris Harrison, 51, did not attend the inquest but submitted a written statement claiming he and his daughter had been watching a television news segment about gun crime when he mentioned owning a firearm and asked if she wanted to see it.

“As I lifted the gun to show her, I suddenly heard a loud bang. I did not understand what had happened. Lucy immediately fell,” Mr. Harrison stated, adding that he could not recall whether his finger was on the trigger.

The coroner rejected Mr. Harrison’s account that his daughter had asked to see the weapon, noting she was known to dislike guns.

Alcohol and Investigation

The inquest heard that Mr. Harrison had relapsed on alcohol the day of the shooting, admitting to drinking approximately 500 milliliters of white wine. CCTV footage showed he had purchased two cartons of Chardonnay from a 7-Eleven store that afternoon.

Police noted the smell of alcohol on Mr. Harrison’s breath, though Texas authorities failed to conduct a breathalyzer test.

Prosper police investigated Harrison’s death as possible manslaughter, but a grand jury in Collin County declined to indict Mr. Harrison, determining there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges.

Coroner’s Findings

In delivering her conclusion, Ms. Devonish stated that shooting his daughter through the chest would have required Mr. Harrison to point the gun at her without checking for bullets and pull the trigger.

“His actions have killed his own daughter and in the cold light of day it is hoped that he now recognises the risk he posed to her life in circumstances in which he had no experience of guns, had undertaken no training and had never fired a gun,” the coroner said.

Lucy Harrison’s mother, Jane Coates, described her daughter as a “real force of life” who was passionate about causes she believed in.

In a statement, Mr. Harrison said he “fully accepted” the consequences of his actions, adding, “There isn’t a day I don’t feel the weight of that loss, a weight I will carry for the rest of my life.”