British woman, 23, shot dead by dad in US after 'row about Donald Trump'

An inquest into the death of Lucy Harrison, a 23-year-old British woman who was shot dead by her dad in the US last year, has heard it happened after a 'big' argument about Donald Trump.

Lucy had been staying with her dad Kris and his family in Texas when she was fatally shot in the chest on 10 January 2025.

Cheshire Coroner’s Court today (10 February) heard from Lucy's boyfriend Sam Littler, who said they had travelled to the US for a holiday to see her father, who had moved there when she was a child.

Littler explained that on the morning of 10 January last year there was a 'big argument' between father and daughter about Donald Trump, who was due to be inaugurated in a matter of days.

He said: "Kris and Lucy ended up having quite a big argument which led to Lucy running upstairs and being upset."

An inquest into Lucy Harrison's death heard she and her father had argued about Donald Trump earlier in the day (Handout)

He said Harrison had asked her father: “How would you feel if I was the girl in that situation and I’d been sexually assaulted?”

Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women over the years. He claims they were 'paid to make up stories about me'.

Littler told the court Lucy's dad had replied that he had two other daughters who lived with him so it wouldn't upset him that much, and that later in the day about half an hour before they were due to leave for the airport Lucy had been in the kitchen when her dad had taken her into his bedroom.

15 seconds later he heard a loud bang and Kris Harrison started screaming for his wife.

“I remember running into the room and Lucy was lying on the floor near the entrance to the bathroom and Kris was just screaming, just sort of nonsense," Littler said.

Kris Harrison did not attend the inquest but in a statement said he and his daughter had been watching the news on TV when a piece about gun crime was on, and he'd asked her if she wanted to see his gun.

Lucy's father claims she agreed to see his gun and he 'suddenly heard a loud bang' as he lifted it to show her (Handout)

Kris claimed his daughter had agreed and they'd gone into his room so he could show Lucy his handgun, a Glock 9mm semi-automatic which he kept in a bedside cabinet.

He said he'd bought the gun a couple of years ago to give his family a 'sense of security', and his statement said he didn't recall whether his finger was on the trigger when he picked it up.

"As I lifted the gun to show her I suddenly heard a loud bang. I did not understand what had happened. Lucy immediately fell," he said.

He also said he had 'briefly lapsed' back into alcohol consumption on the day he shot his daughter dead due to being emotional about her leaving, with him saying he'd drunk around half a litre of white wine earlier that day.

The inquest heard a grand jury in the US determined there was insufficient evidence to charge anyone in connection with Lucy's death.

An inquest into her death is being held at Cheshire Coroner’s Court (Handout)

Lucy's mother Jane Coates said her daughter was a 'real force of life'.

She said: "She cared. She was passionate about things. She loved to have debates about things that meant a lot to her."

In a statement provided through his lawyers, Kris Harrison said: "I fully accept the consequences of my actions, and 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, and I know that nothing I say can ease the heartbreak this tragedy has caused.

“I cannot undo what happened, but I can honour Lucy by being the best father I can be to her sisters and by carrying her memory forward in everything we do.

“I am deeply sorry for the pain others feel from this tragedy. Lucy’s spirit — her warmth, her humour, her kindness — will live on in all of us who loved her.”