Lucy Harrison, 23, was shot from “medium range” at her father's detached house in Prosper, Texas, on January 10.
Share
A 23-year-old woman who was shot by her father while she was staying at his home in the US had argued with him about Donald Trump earlier that day, an inquest has heard.
Lucy Harrison, 23, from Warrington, Cheshire, travelled to the US with her boyfriend Sam Littler when she was shot from “medium range” at the detached house in the suburb of Prosper on January 10.
She suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the chest after being "shot by another person."
Giving evidence at Cheshire Coroner's Court on Tuesday, her boyfriend Sam Littler said he had travelled with her to the US, where her father had moved when she was a child, for the holiday.
He said Ms Harrison would often become upset with her father, who the inquest heard had previously been to rehab for alcohol addiction, when he spoke about his ownership of a gun.
On the morning of January 10, when the couple were due to return home to the UK, there was a "big" argument between Ms Harrison and her father about Donald Trump, who was to be inaugurated as president, Mr Littler said.
He 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."
On the morning of January 10, when the couple were due to return home to the UK, there was a "big" argument between Ms Harrison and her father about Donald Trump, who was to be inaugurated as president, Mr Littler said.
He 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."
An inquest on Tuesday revealed that it was her father Kris who fired the fatal shot in a bedroom at the Texas property and no-one else was present.
Cheshire Coroner’s Court heard how Kris had a history of alcohol abuse. During the hearing, questions were raised over his level of training with firearms and whether he knew the gun was loaded.
A medical report also found Lucy had no alcohol or drugs in her system.
It comes after a grand jury in the US ruled that no-one will face prosecution over the fashion buyer’s death, Prosper Police Department said.
The circumstances around Lucy's death were revealed as lawyers representing her father accused the coroner of being “biased” and called on her to step remove herself from the case.
Ana Samuel, Mr Harrison’s attorney, accused senior coroner Jacqueline Devonshire of carrying out inquiries “more akin to a criminal investigation”, claiming she failed to share documents with the legal team.
She said the coroner was "trying to catch Mr Harrison out" with the lack of disclosure, claiming a “clear impression the inquest has been carried out in the way of a criminal investigation rather than that of a fact finding issue".
But Ms Devonish has refused to back down from persisting with the inquest, saiying Mr Harrison has lost his opportunity to provide his evidence.
“He was the only person in the room at the time Lucy was shot and it was important that he provided his statement of fact. There was no need for him to see the disclosure,” she said.
Lucy’s mum's lawyer argued Kris had 113 days to raise any concerns from when he was ordered to give a witness statement to the court.
“This is simply an ambush by Mr Harrison’s legal team on the morning of what is already an incredibly traumatic day,” her lawyer Lois Norris said.
Ms Norris added that Kris was “historically an alcoholic” and said the coroner must find out how he and his daughter Lucy found themselves in a bedroom of the house alone with the gun.
Her mum, Jane Coates, learned of what happened to her daughter when she was woken by a knock on the door from Sam’s mum.
Jane and Sam said in a tribute to Lucy: “Lucy was life. She lived it fiercely and fearlessly, not being afraid to feel all that life has to offer.
“Lucy unashamedly loved – she had a huge capacity to love and be loved.
“She was the embodiment of wonderful contradictions; she adored travel and being away, experiencing new places and cultures, yet at the same time, she loved nothing more than snuggling up in her pyjamas with her candles on at home.
“She could be dramatic and elaborate situations like it was the end of the world, yet she could also be straight talking and not afraid to have bold conversations."