British woman ‘shot dead by father on US holiday after argument about Trump’

Lucy Harrison’s boyfriend says he found her lying dead while her father screamed ‘nonsense’

Lucy Harrison, 23, who was fatally shot in Prosper, Texas (Cheshire Police)

A man shot his daughter at his home in the US after the pair had an argument about Donald Trump, an inquest has heard.

Lucy Harrison, a fashion buyer from Warrington in Cheshire, had been staying with her father Kris Harrison and his family in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Prosper when she died.

An inquest into the 23-year-old’s death is being held at Cheshire Coroner’s Court.

On Tuesday, Ms Harrison’s boyfriend Sam Littler told the inquest that he had travelled with her to the US, where her father had moved when she was young, for a holiday.

He said Ms Harrison would often become upset with her father when he spoke about his ownership of a gun.

The inquest also heard that Mr Harrison had previously been to rehab for alcohol addiction.

On the morning of 10 January, when Ms Harrison and Mr Littler were due to return home to the UK, there was a “big” argument between Ms Harrison and her father about Mr Trump, who was to be inaugurated as president, Mr Littler said.

“Kris and Lucy ended up having quite a big argument which led to Lucy running upstairs and being upset.”

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

Mr Harrison had replied that he had two other daughters who lived with him so it would not upset him that much, Mr Littler said.

He told the coroner’s court that later that day, about half an hour before they were to leave to go to the airport, Ms Harrison had been in the kitchen, when her father took her by the hand and led her into his ground floor bedroom.

About 15 seconds later he heard a loud bang and then heard Mr Harrison screaming for his wife, Heather, he said.

Mr Littler said: “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.”

Ms Harrison’s mother, Jane Coates, said her daughter, who worked for fashion brand Boohoo, 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.”

Mr Harrison did not attend the hearing to give evidence.

Ana Samuel, representing him, made an application at the start of the hearing for coroner Jacqueline Devonish to recuse herself from the case, saying a fair-minded observer may conclude there was a real possibility she was biased.

She said the inquest had been conducted “in a manner more akin to a criminal investigation than a fact-finding inquiry”.

Lois Norris, representing Ms Coates, said the application was an “ambush by Mr Harrison’s legal team”.

She said Mr Harrison was the “person in the room who shot Ms Harrison” and the only person who was in the room when it happened.

Ms Devonish refused the application to recuse herself.

The inquest is expected to conclude on Tuesday.