UK police have told the mother of a young British woman shot dead by her father in Texas that they have 'no lawful authority to intervene' in her fight for justice.
asserted
they → tell → justice
Lucy Harrington, 23, from Warrington, in Cheshire, died on January 10 last year after she was shot in the chest.
A grand jury in the US declined to indict her father Kris Harrison, 52, over the killing despite a British coroner ruling that her death was unlawful.
However Ms Harrington's grieving mother, Jane Coates, 49, has been told they cannot intervene in the case.
asserted
they → die → case
She had written to Cheshire Police urging them to 'gather evidence' in the UK and then 'liaise' with US authorities.
But the force responded by telling her it was 'constrained by legal, jurisdictional and practical realities'.
asserted
it → write → realities
In September, Ms Coates travelled more than 4,000 miles to prosecutors in the US to call for the investigation to be reopened.
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investigation → travel → US
Radd Seiger, Ms Coates's lawyer, said the 23-year-old's family have had 'serious concerns' about the US investigation into the killing and whether all evidence was properly gathered and considered when building a case against Harrison.
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evidence → say → Harrison
Ms Coats has said she will 'never' give up on her daughter.
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she → say → daughter
Pictured together
A grand jury declined to indict her father, Kris Harrison (pictured) and ruled her death an accident
Lucy Harrison was shot dead in the chest on January 10, 2025, at her father's home in Prosper, Texas
He said the family are asking Cheshire Police 'to obtain and examine relevant evidence which has not yet been properly investigated' as they have now spent nearly two years fighting for justice.
Ms Harrison's family had argued to the force that as a British citizen, her father could be prosecuted in the UK.
uncertain
father → picture → UK
Under certain circumstances, British nationals who commit murder or manslaughter in the US can face justice in a UK court.
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who → commit → court
But in a letter seen by the BBC, Deputy Chief Constable Mike Evans said: 'Whilst we may share the family's concerns and understand their desire for further scrutiny, we have no lawful authority to intervene in decisions taken by those agencies.'
uncertain
we → see → agencies
He added that Cheshire Police was 'ultimately constrained by legal, jurisdictional and practical realities that significantly limit what any police force in England and Wales can do in relation to a death that occurred in the United States'.
asserted
that → add → States
Mr Evans said the 'practical ability to investigate and prosecute remains severely constrained when the suspect, witnesses, exhibits and evidential opportunities are all located overseas'.
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suspect → say → ?
'No parent should have to endure the loss of a child in such tragic circumstances, and I fully appreciate that the passage of time does not diminish the family's need for answers or their determination to understand exactly what happened to Lucy
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what → endure → Lucy
,' he added.
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he → add → ?
But Mr Seiger said the victim's family 'are not prepared to accept that the investigation is complete' because prosecutors in the US are not taking the case further.
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prosecutors → say → case
Although local police launched an investigation, records show the shooting was treated as an accident from the outset and Mr Harrison was never arrested.
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Harrison → launch → outset
Lucy Harrison's mother, Janes Coates, travelled 4,000 miles to the offices of US prosecutors to demand a fresh investigation into her daughter's death
It comes after Ms Coates travelled more than 4,000 miles to the Collin County District Attorney's Office, where she called for the probe into the shooting of her daughter Lucy Harrison to be reopened.
asserted
probe → travel → daughter
She died after she was shot in the chest by her own father while visiting his home in Prosper, Dallas, in January last year.
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she → die → January
Ms Coates said: 'I've come all this way because I wanted to look these people in the eye and ask them some very simple questions about my daughter.
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I → say → daughter
'I've travelled thousands of miles to Texas because I'm not prepared to give up on Lucy.
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I → travel → Lucy
Although local police launched an investigation, records show the shooting was treated as an accident from the outset and Mr Harrison, 52, was never arrested.
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Harrison → launch → outset
Mr Harrison claimed that his gun had accidentally gone off in the master bedroom of his detached home as he showed it to his daughter minutes before she was due to leave to travel back to the UK.
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she → claim → UK
A Texas grand jury found there was no case to answer, but a UK coroner concluded at an inquest earlier this year that Ms Harrison had been unlawfully killed.
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Harrison → find → inquest
Ms Coates says the investigation into her daughter's death should be reopened, arguing key lines of inquiry were never properly explored.
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lines → say → inquiry
Standing outside the district attorney's office today, she called for officials to meet with her and hear her concerns.
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officials → stand → concerns
'I just wish they cared enough to meet me…
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they → wish → me
I have lost my daughter.
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I → lose → daughter
I can never get her back,' she said.
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she → get → her
'The very least I thought I could expect was for the people responsible for investigating her death to give me the courtesy of sitting down with me and hearing me out.'
uncertain
people → think → me
Ms Coates has pointed to several gaps in the initial investigation, including the failure to carry out toxicology tests despite officers smelling alcohol on Mr Harrison at the time of the shooting.
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officers → point → shooting
She also highlighted the lack of gunshot residue testing, inconsistencies in Mr Harrison's account and questions surrounding the bullet trajectory and entry wound.
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She → highlight → trajectory
They are fundamental to any homicide investigation and they simply weren't done,' she said.
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she → do → investigation
Her concerns have been echoed by Craig Miller, a respected former Dallas police chief who reviewed the case files and found investigators did not appear to follow several key lines of inquiry.
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investigators → echo → inquiry
Mr Miller, who now works as a law enforcement expert witness, agreed there were several departures from what he described as nationally accepted investigative 'best practice'.
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he → work → practice
'There isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t think about Lucy and everything she should have had in front of her,' Ms Coates (middle) previously said
Ms Coats travelled more than 4,000 miles to the Collin County District Attorney's Office, where she called for the probe into the shooting of her daughter to be reopened
Welcoming his findings, Ms Coates said: 'We have been saying for a long time that Lucy's death was not properly investigated.
'
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death → be → time
Craig Miller's review is so important… he is a former senior Dallas police officer who understands the standards expected of a major American police investigation.'
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who → understand → investigation
Ms Coates's visit to Texas comes after repeated requests for meetings with both Prosper Police and the Collin County District Attorney's Office were declined, according to the campaign for justice for her daughter.
uncertain
requests → come → daughter
Appealing directly to the authorities, Ms Coates urged them to reconsider, adding: 'Lucy deserved a proper investigation when she died.
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she → appeal → investigation
She must have one now.'
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She → have → one
Mr Seiger, spokesman for the Justice for Lucy Harrison campaign, said Ms Coates had been forced to make the journey because she still had not received answers after her daughter's death.
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she → say → death
'We decided to come to Texas to appeal directly to the American people about the gross injustice in Lucy's case,' he added.
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he → decide → case
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
