Jane Coates, the mother of 23-year-old British fashion buyer Lucy Harrison, will fly to Texas to persuade prosecutors to reopen the case into her fatal shooting.
Ms Coates accused British authorities of deserting her family after an English coroner ruled in February 2026 that her daughter was unlawfully killed by her father at his home in Prosper, Texas.
Lucy Harrison, from Warrington in Cheshire, was shot through the chest by her father, Kris Harrison, on January 10, 2025, just hours before she was due to fly home to the UK.
A grand jury in Collin County, Texas, previously decided there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges after Mr Harrison claimed his Glock handgun discharged accidentally while he was showing it to his daughter.
However, Senior Coroner Jacqueline Devonish concluded in February 2026 that Ms Harrison was unlawfully killed, finding her father's actions amounted to gross negligence manslaughter under UK law.
Mother plans trip to Texas prosecutors
Speaking more than 19 months after the tragedy, Ms Coates said she felt incredibly alone and deserted by the British authorities in her campaign for justice.
"I think it's not being heard, just raising all of our concerns and nothing being acted upon, and feeling like we've just been deserted by the British authorities," Ms Coates said.
She added that save for her local MP, Sarah Hall, who did everything in her capacity to raise and escalate the case, it felt as though doors had been shut at every single opportunity.
Ms Coates said her family had to wait until February 2026 before they felt able to speak freely about what happened and how let down they felt by officials.
"Receiving the unlawful killing outcome was a day full of complete mixed emotions, but one where finally Lucy's truth and voice has been heard in some capacity," she said.
However, she noted that the verdict had not moved things forward regarding her request to reopen the Texas investigation.
Ms Coates is now planning to travel to Texas alongside international justice adviser Radd Seiger to meet the Collin County District Attorney's Office.
"It would be that they do accept the outcome from the coroner in terms of the unlawful killing," Ms Coates said when asked what a successful trip would look like.
"Although I know that it's a completely different jurisdiction, a completely different law, so it's about appealing to them in terms of our real concerns with the US investigation, with the Texas investigation, and that they do agree to reopen Lucy's case and give it new consideration. That's the ultimate goal."
UK coroner finds reckless actions and untested alcohol
Senior Coroner Jacqueline Devonish ruled that Mr Harrison's conduct on the day of the shooting had been reckless.
The inquest heard that Mr Harrison had been drinking wine before removing a loaded Glock pistol from his bedside cabinet.
The coroner concluded that the gun could only have been fired after it was pointed at Lucy and the trigger pulled.
The court also heard that police officers in Texas did not carry out an alcohol test on Mr Harrison despite smelling alcohol on his breath.
Before her death, Ms Harrison had graduated from university with a first-class degree in fashion before working as a fashion buyer.
Her home town of Warrington is a large industrial town in Cheshire in North West England, situated between Liverpool and Manchester.
Collin County, where the shooting occurred, is located in the northern part of the US state of Texas.
Demands for public backing from Foreign Office
Ms Coates clarified that she is not asking the Foreign Office to interfere in American legal jurisdiction, but wants ministers to publicly support her family.
"Surely, having an unlawful killing conclusion in a coroner's court should then mean something, and I definitely thought that it would have been escalated in the Foreign Office," she said.
"I'm not calling for the Foreign Office to interfere in jurisdiction abroad, but to be a voice for Lucy and for our family, to know that we are supported by the British Government, to be able to campaign for the case to be reopened."
The family has requested a formal meeting with Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and other senior diplomats.
Ms Coates said she wants recognition of what her family has endured and public assurances of support moving forward with US authorities.
"I would say I am a bereaved mum who wants to do everything I possibly can to ensure justice for my daughter and to do the right thing by her and for her," she said of her message to Mr Miliband.
"I really do want the full support of the British Government behind me, so that I no longer feel alone. Because I have felt incredibly alone, and I'm not a bitter person. I will not allow bitterness to eat me or to consume me."
Legal advice and the Harry Dunn review
Ms Coates has enlisted the help of Radd Seiger, an adviser who previously assisted the family of Harry Dunn.
Mr Dunn was a 19-year-old British motorcyclist who was killed in 2019 in a road crash in Northamptonshire involving a US citizen.
Mr Seiger said Ms Harrison's case is exactly the type of complex international case that Dame Anne Owers' review into the government's handling of the Dunn case envisaged would receive senior-level support.
He argued that the family's plight should be lifted beyond routine consular handling and confirmed he will join Ms Coates on her trip to Texas.
Outside Cheshire Coroner's Court, Ms Coates was pictured alongside Ms Harrison's friend Ella Gowing and boyfriend Sam Littler.
Grief, teaching, and British values
Ms Coates explained that campaigning for justice has given her little opportunity to grieve for her only child.
She said the first year following the shooting was cocooned by shock, which kept her in a doing mode focused on securing justice.
However, she revealed that the second year has been much harder as the full reality of her loss has hit home.
"At the moment, I'm in this position where I'm feeling that I've kind of got two daughters in one sense, like this campaigning daughter, where I go into this campaigning mode, and this mum who is campaigning for justice for Lucy," Ms Coates said.
"But then I've got my real daughter. I know the two are the same. But that softness is there, and I think it's just allowing myself to have those opportunities to just be in that place, just me and Lucy. But yeah, it's hard."
As a deputy head teacher, Ms Coates noted that her school pupils are watching the outcome of her campaign closely.
"How can I say to them when I go back into school, 'Guys, forget British values. It doesn't really matter about the rule of law because people won't support you'?" she said.
"Lucy is one person, but she represents so much more than one person, she does represent doing the right thing, and it doesn't matter whether it's in the UK or the US. We all know right from wrong."
A spokeswoman for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: "Our thoughts remain with Jane and her family for the tragic loss they have suffered. We were in contact with the family and provided consular support. We will always look to learn lessons to improve the consular support we offer to other families in the future."
Foreign Office officials are understood to be reviewing recent correspondence from the family and intend to respond.
The Collin County District Attorney's Office has also been approached for comment regarding the case.
