A Warrington mother has made an emotional plea to Andy Burnham's government to help reopen the case of her daughter Lucy Harrison, who was tragically killed in Texas last year. The move comes after a damning ruling by a Cheshire coroner that 23-year-old Lucy was unlawfully killed - a stark contrast to the outcome of the initial US investigation.
Lucy Harrison, described as a 'high achiever' by her mother Jane Coates, had been visiting her father Kris Harrison in Prosper, an affluent suburb north of Dallas. It was there that she met a tragic end, shot while preparing to return to the UK with her boyfriend Sam Littler. Despite her father holding the firearm at the time of the incident, he was never arrested and a grand jury later chose not to indict him after an investigation by local police.
Ms Coates, a deputy head teacher who raised Lucy as a single parent, is still coming to terms with the loss of her daughter. She recounts the close bond they shared and Lucy's vibrant personality, passion for life, and strong convictions - including a deep-seated opposition to guns. This stance occasionally caused friction with her father, a telecoms executive who owned a pistol, which he purchased two years prior to Lucy's death. Texas law does not require gun owners over 21 to have training or a licence, making it one of the most firearms-friendly states in the US.
The inquest into Lucy's death revealed that she had expressed concerns about her younger half-sisters being in a household with her father's Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol. On the morning of her death, Lucy and her father had reportedly argued about sexual assault allegations against Donald Trump.
Now, almost two years on from the tragedy, Ms Coates is urging Andy Burnham's government to engage with US authorities in a bid to reopen the case. She hopes that this could lead to a re-examination of the events surrounding her daughter's death and provide some measure of justice following the coroner's unlawful killing verdict.