The decision by police to not meet with the grieving mother of a woman shot dead by her father has been described as "unfathomable" and "incomprehensible" after she travelled to Texas from the UK. Lucy Harrison, 23, was on holiday with her boyfriend Sam Littler on January 10, 2025, when she was fatally shot from "medium range" by her dad at his home in Prosper, Texas.
The couple had been due to fly back to the UK later that day and were visiting Lucy's dad, Kris Harrison, over the festive period. An inquest at Cheshire Coroners' Court in Warrington heard how Mr Harrison pulled the trigger after taking his daughter into his bedroom shortly before he was due to drive the couple to the airport.
Inquest findings and lack of prosecution
It was heard during the inquest how Lucy was shot shortly before 3pm, with her dad being described as a "functioning alcoholic" who was seen on CCTV buying two cartons of wine the morning of the killing. Senior coroner Jacqueline Devonish concluded Lucy's death was unlawful. Despite evidence he had been drinking, and an officer stating he could smell alcohol on his breath, Mr Harrison was never breathalysed and his blood was not tested for alcohol.
The ECHO revealed in June last year how a grand jury in Texas concluded there would be no bill, meaning no prosecution would be sought for Mr Harrison. Lucy's mum, Jane Coates, and Lucy's boyfriend Sam have both submitted formal complaints to Prosper Police Department. While her death has led to no prosecutions, the tragedy in the affluent town north of Dallas also saw no media coverage in the US. It took extensive coverage from the ECHO, followed by national media coverage, to highlight the pain and tragedy Jane, Sam and their families have been through.
Refusal to meet and legal response
Now, Jane, along with experienced lawyer Radd Seiger, has travelled to Texas where she hoped to meet with law officials. Despite travelling upwards of 4,000 miles from her home in Warrington, Prosper PD and the District Attorney for Collin County have both refused to meet with her. In a passionate interview with the ECHO, Mr Seiger explained how the police's investigation was not good enough and the refusal to meet with him and Jane signals "there is a problem" in their investigation.
He explained: "I can’t take these people to court. I can't sue them. I can't complain. I can't ask somebody else to come in and sack these people because it's a s**t investigation. We are in the middle of the Wild West, here in Texas, it's madness." He added: "I was hoping that by now, they would have seen sense, they're public officials, public servants, that they would see sense and say, 'okay, yeah, let's sit down and talk about it'. Although we didn't get to meet the key people, a delegation was sent at both the police and the district attorney to meet us in reception, and we handed our details, we said who we are and why we were there, and people agreed to pass on our requests for a meeting. But then, they both put statements out yesterday, effectively doubling down."
A spokesperson for Prosper PD told the ECHO: "We have great sympathy for Lucy’s family and recognise that the loss of a child is an unimaginable tragedy. The Prosper Police Department, along with the Texas Rangers, conducted a thorough and complete investigation. The case was subsequently referred to the Collin County District Attorney’s Office and presented to an independent grand jury, which ultimately declined to move forward with criminal charges. Given the conclusion of the investigative and prosecutorial processes, and the legal considerations surrounding this matter, the Town will not be reopening the investigation, hosting a meeting with Jane, or participating in a media interview. This decision does not diminish the profound loss experienced by Lucy’s family, and our thoughts remain with them."
Campaign for justice
It is unknown what evidence was presented to the grand jury, and records are sealed by law. Jane has since launched a campaign 'Justice4Luce' as she fundraises to help pay for her international calls for the investigation to be reopened. Mr Seiger was born in Hawaii before moving to the UK at a young age and later launching his legal career. He admittedly remained low-profile in terms of the media, that was until he advised the family of Northamptonshire teenager Harry Dunn who died when his motorcycle was hit by a car being driven by US citizen Anne Sacoolas in 2019.
Having arrived earlier this week, Radd, along with Jane and a group of her friends, travelled to the Collin County Court where they spoke to US media and presented a banner calling for the investigation into Lucy's death to be reopened. Despite this, nothing has been done and Prosper PD and the Attorney General both refuse to engage with the family. Radd said: "You switch the news on and it's wall-to-wall murder coverage [in the US]. That's all there is here on the news, right? Why was it Lucy's case didn't even cause a blip? Local residents are now coming forward to us and have said, when we've got lots of messages saying, 'thank God you're here, shining a light on this, because what the hell is going on?' The town's called Prosper, it's a very affluent part of town, with a pristine reputation. Was Lucy's killing inconvenient and potentially a threat to the town's reputation? And I'm not accusing anybody, but I'm simply asking the question, given that this country is so crime and murder focussed from a news agenda, you have a 23-year-old British girl killed by her father, and it gets no coverage."
Speaking last month, Jane said: "We had to wait until February 2026 before we felt that we could freely speak about what we felt had happened to Lucy and how let down we felt. Receiving the unlawful killing outcome was a day full of complete mixed emotions, but one where finally Lucy's truth and voice has been heard in some capacity. But from then it still hasn't moved things forward in terms of my request for a reopening of the investigation in Texas."
