A mother whose daughter was shot dead by her father in Texas in what an inquest later ruled was an unlawful killing said she still “has a job to do” in her fight to have the case reopened.
Jane Coates travelled to Collin County in the US state to call on the district attorney to reinstate the investigation into her daughter’s death.
Lucy Harrison, 23, from Warrington, Cheshire, was shot in the chest on 10 January 2025 in Prosper, near Dallas.
However, Coates said when she arrived at the town hall she was told the district attorney would not speak to her but said she remained determined as “I’ve got a job to do for my daughter”.
Coates told North West Tonight that going into the town hall building to try to speak to make contact was “intimidating” but this was “part of my journey as a mum that I need to be here for Lucy, no matter how hard and difficult it is”.
Police in the town investigated Harrison’s death as possible manslaughter but no criminal case was brought against her father Kris Harrison after a grand jury in Collin County declined to indict him.
In February, a coroner in England concluded Harrison had been unlawfully killed, finding that her father’s actions amounted to gross negligence manslaughter under UK law.
Police in Texas have said they will not reopen the investigation, however.
Coates has now called on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to step in to back her bid to get the investigation reopened.
