Dad kills daughter after argument "about Donald Trump"

• Lucy was shot in the chest by her father in Texas; the coroner ruled her death an unlawful killing due to gross negligence.
• A US grand jury declined to indict her father, who claimed the gun went off accidentally.

Lucy Harrison, 23, from Warrington, England, was shot in the chest by her father, Kris Harrison, on Jan. 10, 2025, in Prosper, near Dallas, following an argument about US President Donald Trump, an inquest has heard.

Police investigated the death as possible manslaughter, but a Collin County grand jury in Texas declined to indict Kris Harrison. The inquest revealed he had relapsed on alcohol earlier that day, drinking around 500ml of white wine, and claimed the shooting was accidental while showing Lucy a Glock 9mm handgun in his bedroom.

Coroner’s ruling

Senior Coroner Jacqueline Devonish officially ruled that Lucy Harrison was unlawfully killed, citing gross negligence manslaughter by her father.

The coroner rejected the father’s claim that the shooting was a simple accident while showing Lucy the weapon, instead concluding that he had been "teasing" his daughter with the firearm while in a state of alcohol-induced recklessness.

Although a US grand jury previously declined to indict him, the UK court found his actions, pointing a loaded weapon at his daughter's chest and pulling the trigger, met the high legal threshold for criminal negligence.

Revelations

Lucy’s boyfriend, Sam Littler, described a “big argument” with her father about guns and Trump earlier in the day. He said Lucy often became upset when discussing her father’s gun ownership. CCTV footage showed Kris Harrison had purchased two 500ml cartons of Chardonnay shortly before the incident.

The inquest also revealed tensions between the family and highlighted past struggles, including Harrison’s previous rehab for alcohol addiction. Kris Harrison did not attend the hearing but submitted a statement accepting full responsibility, saying: "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."

Legal teams clashed over the inquest’s conduct, with Harrison’s lawyer seeking to have coroner Jacqueline Devonish recuse herself, a motion that was rejected.

Lucy’s mother, Jane Coates, described her daughter as a “real force of life” who cared deeply about issues and loved passionate debates.