After Texas jury declined to indict, U.K. court rules British woman killed by father in Prosper died ‘unlawful’ death

A 23-year-old woman was killed in January 2025 after a gun her father was handling fired a bullet into her chest, according to a New York Times report.

PROSPER, Texas — A British coroner has ruled that the fatal shooting of a 23-year-old woman by her father during a family visit to Collin County last year amounted to an unlawful killing, according to a report from the New York Times.

The finding contrasts a decision by a Texas grand jury not to bring criminal charges against the father.

Lucy Harrison, from Cheshire in northern England, was shot in the chest in January 2025 at her father’s home in Prosper, according to an incident report obtained by WFAA. Her father, Kris Harrison, had been showing her a gun when it discharged, the NYT reports. A Collin County grand jury later declined to indict him.

In a statement, the Prosper Police Department said it conducted a thorough investigation into the incident and referred the case to the Collin County District Attorney’s Office for review. The department said it does not comment further once a case has been referred to another agency, citing the possibility of ongoing investigations or pending litigation.

On Wednesday, a coroner’s court in Britain found that Harrison caused his daughter’s death through gross negligence manslaughter. Jacqueline Devonish, the coroner, said that although the discharge of the weapon was accidental, the circumstances amounted to an “unlawful killing,” according to the BBC report.

In her findings, Devonish said the gun could only have inflicted the fatal chest wound if it had been pointed directly at Lucy Harrison, who was standing across the room. The coroner determined that the handling of the firearm met the threshold for gross negligence, even though there was no evidence of intent, according to NYT.

In a statement previously reported by the BBC, Harrison said that he heard a sudden bang as he lifted the gun to show his daughter.

“I did not understand what had happened,” he said. “Lucy immediately fell.” 

A coroner’s court in the United Kingdom serves as a fact-finding investigation. It is different from a criminal court and does not determine guilt. 

The coroner’s court ruling in Harrison’s case does not carry legal force in the United States. 

Jane Coates, Lucy Harrison’s mother, said in a Wednesday statement to BBC that she welcomed the coroner’s conclusion after what she described as “an unrelenting year of deep shock, grief and fight,” even while acknowledging that it was not a criminal court judgment. 

She said the Texas grand jury “seemed to have no option but to conclude” that no prosecution could be brought based on the evidence presented to it.

“Lucy had so much more of life to live, to love, to give,” Coates said in a statement.