A MUM whose daughter was shot dead by her dad following a row over Donald Trump has slammed cops for “letting her down”.
Jane Coates, 49, accused US authorities of “ignoring” evidence after Lucy Harrison, 23, by her dad Kris at his home in .
Lucy Harrison, 23, was shot in the heart by her dad Kris Credit: Facebook
She had been staying with her dad at his home in Texas Credit: Facebook
Kris, 52, claims the horror occurred accidentally while he was “showing off” his firearm to his daughter, who had been visiting him in on holiday.
Lucy tragically died on January 10 last year – the same day she and her boyfriend were due to fly back home to Warrington, Cheshire.
US cops dropped their probe without charging Kris, but a British coroner later ruled his actions “reckless” and delivered an unlawful killing verdict.
And Jane has since accused the American authorities of “ignoring” evidence that she claims contradicts Kris’ version of events.
She told Sky News : “I just feel she’s been so let down. I feel anger. It is incredibly frustrating because there was physical evidence there.
“There was a diagram in the inquest bundle which shows the positioning of the gun, the gun casing and Lucy’s blood stains on the floor.
“(They) were just off the en-suite to the bedroom – which showed she was not stood next to Chris as he had claimed.
“I feel anger that police actually took the time to draw this diagram.. For me, it was like they had not chosen to follow the physical evidence.”
Jane (centre) said her daughter had been ‘let down’ Credit: PA
Jane accused the US authorities of ignoring evidence Credit: Facebook
Cheshire Coroner Jacqueline Devonish concluded the inquest into Lucy’s death earlier this year.
She said: “To shoot her through the chest whilst she was standing would have required him to have been pointing the gun without checking for bullets and pulled the trigger. I find this reckless.”
Jane thanked the British coroner and said the force that investigated the shooting failed to pick up on key facts of the case.
She added: “My anger isn’t shouty and ragey, I have a steely determination to call this out and make sure the truth is heard.
“I am so grateful for the UK coroner for looking at all the evidence and coming to the conclusion of ‘unlawful killing’.”
Speaking at her inquest earlier this year, Lucy’s boyfriend said Kris and his daughter had been arguing in the morning of her death.
They had rowed about sexual assault allegations against , who was due to start his second stint as president at the time.
He later invited his daughter into his bedroom to see the gun he owned, before a loud bang was heard and Kris shouted out for help.
Lucy had been arguing with her dad hours before her death, her inquest heard Credit: Facebook
A British coroner later ruled Kris’ actions ‘reckless’ and delivered an unlawful killing verdict Credit: Facebook
Rushing into the room, Kris’s second wife and Lucy’s boyfriend found her lying on the floor struggling to breath, he told the inquest.
Emergency services rushed to the home, but were initially not told that Lucy had been shot, instead being told that she had passed out.
Despite the best efforts of medics, the 23-year-old could not be saved.
Jane first found out about her daughter’s death when there was a knock at her door and the awful was delivered by Lucy’s boyfriend’s mum.
Police records show that the shooting had been ruled an accident within a day of the probe being launched, the inquest heard.
And evidence from initial with Kris indicated that he had been drinking that morning – but he was never breathalysed at the scene.
Body-worn camera footage from cops showed Kris later claiming Lucy had asked to see his gun, adding: “I got it out and it just went off.”
He is understood to have purchased the firearm from a colleague and kept it at home without a licence or training, which is legal in Texas.
American cops are understood to have opened an investigation into a potential charge of “criminally negligent homicide”.
Last June, a jury was asked to consider if Kris should face a criminal trial in June last year, but no charges were subsequently brought against him.
Jane believes her ex-husband did not intend to shoot Lucy, but raised concerns over what she believes to be contradictions in his story.
Even though both Lucy and Kris hold British citizenship, Cheshire Police had no jurisdiction to investigate the 23-year-old’s death.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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