A British inquest has concluded that Texas dad “unlawfully” killed his 23-year-old daughter while she was visiting him in early 2025.
Senior coroner Jacqueline Devonish said that Kris Harrison was a “functioning alcoholic” who had been drinking throughout the day on January 10, 2025, and that his actions were “reckless,” The Independent reported.
“To shoot her through the chest whilst she was standing would have required him to have been pointing the gun at his daughter, without checking for bullets, and pulling the trigger,” Devonish ruled.
Devonish ruled the killing unlawful on the grounds of gross negligence manslaughter.
The case had been presented to a grand jury in Texas, which declined to indict, the BBC reported.
Lucy Harrison, visiting her father from Britain where she lived, was shot and killed “by another person,” her autopsy said, as CrimeOnline reported. A police report said there were five witnesses but was so redacted as to make it meaningless.
The inquest in Cheshire, however, provided more information, particularly from Lucy Harrison’s boyfriend, who had traveled with her to visit her father, The Independent said.
Testimony revealed that police in Texas never tested Harrison for alcohol despite the obvious smell officers noted.
Sam Littler testified that Lucy Harrison and her father had argued over the pending inauguration of Donald Trump and that Kris Harrison had led her to his bedroom to show her his Glock semi-automatic handgun. Moments later, Littler said, he heard the gunshot.
Harrison, who did not attend the inquest, sent a statement saying he owned the gun to give his family “a sense of security.” He also admitted drinking a half a liter of wine earlier in the day but denied intentionally shooting his daughter.
“As I lifted the gun to show her I suddenly heard a loud bang,” he said in the statement. “I did not understand what had happened. Lucy immediately fell.”
Devonish said in her ruling that Harrison did not tell Littler what had happened despite knowing “full well he had shot his own daughter, pointing a gun at chest height and pulling the trigger.”
“He did not ensure that this information was passed to 911,” she said. “With a bullet through her heart her prognosis was poor in any event.”
The coroner said she accepted Harrison’s ridiculous statement that he didn’t know the gun was loaded but did not believe his contention that his daughter had asked to see the gun since she had repeatedly said she opposed them.
Further, she said, “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.”
Since the Texas grand jury couldn’t find any evidence to charge Harrison, and the British court has no jurisdiction, nothing will come of the inquest ruling other than some sense of closure for Lucy Harrison’s friends and family in the United Kingdom.
In his statement, Kris Harrison, who will never face accountability for his actions, said he “fully accepted” the consequences he only experiences in his mind, the BBC said.
“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,” he said.
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[Featured image: Lucy Harrison/Facebook]