A 23-year-old British woman who was shot dead by her father had argued with him about Donald Trump earlier that day, an inquest has heard.
Lucy Harrison, a fashion buyer from Warrington, Cheshire, was staying with her father, Kris Harrison, and his family at their home in Prosper, Texas, in January last year.
Ms Harrison’s boyfriend, Sam Littler, who made the trip with her, told Cheshire Coroner’s Court she would often become upset with her father when he spoke about his gun ownership.
He said that on the morning of 10 January – when the couple were due to fly home – Ms Harrison and her father argued about Donald Trump.
“Kris and Lucy ended up having quite a big argument which led to Lucy running upstairs and being upset,” Mr Littler said.
He said Ms Harrison asked her father how he’d feel if she was sexually assaulted.
Her father replied that he had two other daughters who lived with him so it would not upset him that much, the inquest heard.
Donald Trump
Then, Mr Littler said, about half an hour before they were due to leave for the airport, Mr Harrison took his daughter by the hand and led her into his ground-floor bedroom.
He said he heard a loud bang some 15 seconds later, before Mr Harrison started screaming for his wife, Heather.
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.”
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Ms Harrison, who worked for fashion brand Boohoo, was described as a “real force of life” by her mother, Jane Coates.
She said: “She cared. She was passionate about things. She loved to have debates about things that meant a lot to her.”
The inquest was also told that Mr Harrison had previously been to rehab for alcohol addiction.
He did not attend the hearing, but his representative, Ana Samuel, said it was “more akin to a criminal investigation than a fact-finding inquiry”.
The inquest is expected to conclude on Tuesday.
