UK police say no authority over Lucy Harrison Texas death case

Police in Cheshire have told the family of Lucy Harrison that they have no legal power to intervene in the American investigation into her death. The 23-year-old from Warrington died from a gunshot wound to the chest in Prosper, near Dallas, on 10 January 2025. A coroner in England later concluded she was unlawfully killed, but a grand jury in Collin County, Texas, declined to indict her father, Kris Harrison, over the shooting.

Lucy’s mother, Jane Coates, had written to Cheshire Police asking them to collect evidence locally and work with the US authorities. But Deputy Chief Constable Mike Evans said the force was bound by law and jurisdiction. In a letter to Coates, he wrote that while they shared the family’s concerns, “we have no lawful authority to intervene in decisions taken by those agencies.”

Family’s push for answers

Last month, Coates travelled to Texas to meet the district attorney in Collin County and urge him to reopen the investigation. She was told he would not speak to her. The grand jury had found insufficient evidence for charges after Kris Harrison said his Glock handgun went off accidentally while he was showing it to his daughter. Texas police have said they will not reopen the case.

But the family’s lawyer, Radd Seiger, said they have serious concerns about whether all relevant evidence was properly gathered and considered. He said a recent download from Lucy’s mobile phone contained information they believe is relevant to the circumstances leading up to her death. “We are not asking Cheshire Constabulary to take over an American investigation or to determine what happened in Texas,” Seiger said. He added that the family are asking the force to obtain and examine evidence that has not yet been properly investigated.

Limits on UK police

Evans acknowledged the force was limited by legal, jurisdictional and practical realities. A senior investigating officer was appointed to look into the case given the unusual circumstances, and a family liaison officer sought information from relevant US law enforcement agencies. But Evans said any police force in England and Wales would be significantly constrained in dealing with a death that occurred in the United States.

The family has argued that a mechanism exists under certain circumstances to prosecute UK citizens for murder or manslaughter before British courts. Evans responded that even where jurisdiction may exist in law, the practical ability to investigate and prosecute remains severely constrained when the suspect, witnesses and evidence are all overseas. “No parent should have to endure the loss of a child in such tragic circumstances,” he wrote. Seiger said the family have spent nearly two years trying to get answers and justice for Lucy, and they are not prepared to accept that the investigation is complete simply because the American authorities have decided not to take the matter further.