Mother continues fight to reopen investigation into daughter's Texas shooting death
British mother Jane Coates travelled to Texas to press prosecutors to reopen the investigation into her daughter's death, after a UK inquest ruled it an unlawful killing. Texas police have said they will not reopen the case.
A British mother, Jane Coates, has travelled to Collin County, Texas, to personally appeal to the local district attorney to reopen the investigation into her daughter's death. She says she still feels compelled to keep fighting, describing it as "a job to do for my daughter".
Coates's daughter, 23-year-old Lucy Harrison from Warrington, Cheshire, was shot in the chest on 10 January 2025 in Prosper, a town near Dallas. Local police initially investigated the case as possible manslaughter, but a grand jury in Collin County declined to indict her father, Kris Harrison.
In February this year, a coroner in England ruled that Harrison had been unlawfully killed, finding that her father's actions amounted to gross negligence manslaughter under UK law. Despite this finding, police in Texas have said they will not reopen their investigation.
When Coates arrived at the town hall, she was told the district attorney would not speak with her. Speaking to BBC North West Tonight, she said entering the building to try to meet the prosecutor felt intimidating, but described it as part of her journey as a mother that she needs to see through for Lucy, however difficult.
Coates has now called on UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham to intervene and support her effort to get the investigation in the US reopened.
