A 23-year-old British woman was shot dead by her father at his home in Texas after the pair argued about Donald Trump hours before she was due to fly back to the UK, an inquest has heard.
Lucy Harrison, a fashion buyer from Warrington, Cheshire, died on 10 January 2025 while staying with her father, Kris Harrison, in Prosper, Texas. Cheshire Coroner’s Court was told the fatal shooting occurred roughly 30 minutes before she and her boyfriend were scheduled to leave for the airport.
The hearing was told that Ms. Harrison and her father had a heated argument earlier that morning about Donald Trump and sexual assault allegations against him. Her boyfriend, Sam Littler, said the dispute left Ms. Harrison visibly distressed and running upstairs in tears.
The inquest is examining the circumstances surrounding the death of Ms. Harrison, who worked as a buyer for fashion retailer Boohoo. She had travelled to Texas with Mr. Littler to visit her father and his family.
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Evidence presented in court highlighted longstanding tensions between father and daughter, particularly over his gun ownership. Mr. Littler said Ms. Harrison would often become upset when the subject arose.
The court also heard that Kris Harrison had previously attended rehabilitation for alcohol addiction.
According to Mr. Littler’s testimony, the argument on the morning of 10 January escalated when Ms. Harrison asked her father how he would feel if she were sexually assaulted. The inquest heard that he replied he had two other daughters living with him and it would not upset him that much.
About half an hour before the couple was due to leave for the airport, Mr. Harrison took his daughter by the hand and led her into his ground-floor bedroom. Mr. Littler said he heard a loud bang approximately 15 seconds later, followed by Mr. Harrison shouting for his wife.
Mr. Littler told the court he ran into the room and found Ms. Harrison lying on the floor near the bathroom entrance while her father was screaming incoherently.
In a statement read to the court by his legal representative, Ana Samuel, Mr. Harrison said the pair had been watching a news item about gun crime when he told his daughter he owned a firearm and asked whether she wanted to see it.
He said they went into the bedroom where he kept a Glock 9mm semi-automatic handgun in a bedside cabinet. He told the court he had purchased the weapon several years earlier for what he described as a sense of security for his family and denied previously discussing it with his daughter.
Mr. Harrison said that as he lifted the gun to show her, he heard a loud bang and did not understand what had happened. He said he could not recall whether his finger was on the trigger.
Police officer Luciana Escalera, whose evidence was read in court, said she detected the smell of alcohol on Mr. Harrison’s breath when she attended the scene.
CCTV footage presented to the inquest showed Mr. Harrison had purchased two 500 ml cartons of Chardonnay from a 7-Eleven store shortly before 13:00 CST on the day of the shooting.
In his statement, Mr. Harrison acknowledged past issues with alcohol and said he had briefly relapsed on the day of his daughter’s death because he was emotional about her departure.
He did not attend the hearing but said through his solicitors that he fully accepted the consequences of his actions and would carry the weight of the loss for the rest of his life.
The inquest proceedings were marked by a legal challenge at the outset. Ms. Samuel applied for Coroner Jacqueline Devonish to recuse herself, arguing that a fair-minded observer might conclude there was a real possibility of bias and that the hearing had resembled a criminal investigation rather than a fact-finding inquiry.
The application was opposed by Lois Norris, representing Ms. Harrison’s mother, Jane Coates, who described it as an ambush by Mr. Harrison’s legal team. She emphasized that Mr. Harrison was the only other person in the room when the shooting occurred.
Coroner Devonish refused the application, and the inquest continued.
In a statement to the court, Ms. Coates described her daughter as a real force of life who was passionate and unafraid to debate issues that mattered to her.
The inquest was adjourned until Wednesday, 11 February, when the coroner is expected to deliver her conclusions.
The coroner’s findings will determine the formal cause and circumstances of Ms. Harrison’s death. The case raises broader questions about firearm safety, alcohol use, and domestic tensions, as well as the legal boundaries of inquest proceedings involving deaths overseas.
For Ms. Harrison’s family, the conclusion will mark the next stage in a case that has drawn attention on both sides of the Atlantic, underscoring the enduring human and legal consequences of a single fatal moment.
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