Lucy Harrison's mother refused meeting as Texas police decline to reopen inquiry

Lucy Harrison's mother has travelled to Texas to demand that US authorities reopen the investigation into her daughter's fatal shooting by her father. Lucy, 23, from Warrington, was shot dead at Chris Harrison's home in Prosper, Texas, in January 2025 while visiting him. She had said goodbye to her mother on Boxing Day 2024 and was due to fly home two weeks later.

Police body camera footage recorded Chris Harrison saying: "She said, you got a gun? I said, yes. I got it out and it just went off and she stood there." He told officers his daughter wanted to see the gun he kept beside his bed. Lucy's family say she hated guns and would never have wanted to see one. Her boyfriend, Sam, heard the shot and dialled 911 in the confusion. Lucy had been shot in the chest.

A Texas grand jury found there was not enough evidence to charge Chris Harrison. But a UK inquest at Warrington Coroner's Court later concluded Lucy was unlawfully killed. The coroner said Chris Harrison had acted recklessly with a loaded handgun and found gross negligence manslaughter. The court heard he had admitted a previous drink problem and a relapse that day, and that he had been teasing his daughter when he pointed the gun at her and pulled the trigger. Father and daughter had argued about Donald Trump during the visit.

Lucy's mother, Jane, has said the police investigation was not thorough or rigorous. She travelled to Texas and tried to meet the prosecutor's office directly, but left without the meeting she wanted. The Prosper Police Department told reporters a thorough and complete investigation had been carried out. It said it would not reopen the investigation and would not meet Jane. The District Attorney's Office did not respond to questions. Chris Harrison has not responded to requests for comment. In a statement to the inquest, he said there was not a day he did not feel the weight of that loss, a weight he would carry for the rest of his life.

Several gaps in the Texas investigation have been highlighted. Officers were unable to find the bullet that killed Lucy. They could not retrieve footage from two CCTV cameras at the house because they were not working. They also failed to take a blood test or do a breathalyzer on Chris Harrison, even though they could smell alcohol and recognised he had been drinking.

Craig Miller, a former deputy chief of Dallas police, said the case raised questions. He said criminally negligent homicide is negligence, and that Chris Harrison had a duty to know the gun he kept for protection still had a bullet in the chamber even without a clip. "You don't consider things like the alcohol. You don't consider things like guns don't just fall out of cabinets and don't just fall out of cases and go off," he said. "It's still a crime to be negligent and I believe that's the case here."

Radd Seiger, who represented the family of Harry Dunn, is supporting Jane Harrison. He said it took three and a half years to persuade the US government to change its mind over Anne Sacoolas, who killed Harry Dunn while driving the wrong way on a country road. "It may take as long again. We kept hammering on their door with Anne Sacoolas and we got there and we will continue to do the same here until they change their minds," he said.

Former prosecutor Jeremy Rosenthal said the case was uncomfortable for authorities in a small town like Prosper. He said there was possible defensiveness and closing of ranks among law enforcement. "Nobody likes being second guessed, nobody likes being questioned, nobody likes being told that they got it wrong," he said.

Jane Harrison has described Lucy as "a ball of energy and a force of life". She said she still talks about her in the present tense. "She was my everything. I'd say we were each other's mirror. She made me be a better person and I hopefully was that for her." She said she felt let down and angry, and that Lucy deserved a thorough and rigorous investigation. "I feel that Lucy is being let down and she deserves so much more than that," she said.