They have fought through pain no mum could ever imagine
Mums Esther Ghey and Jane Coates(Image: Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)
The mums of Brianna Ghey and Lucy Harrison – who both lost their daughters in the most horrific way – have formed an “unbreakable bond”. Esther Ghey’s teenage daughter Brianna, 16, was brutally murdered by two teenagers.
And Jane Coates’ only child Lucy Harrison, 23, was shot dead by her dad. Through the unimaginable pain of losing their girls, the Warrington mums found each other and are now campaigning to make the world a safer place for other young people.
Esther, 39, told the Mirror: “Brianna and Lucy have brought us together – it feels as though this was meant to happen. It’s having someone who you can be completely open with about grief and your experiences – our relationship is on a deeper level. There are some things we’ve spoken to each other about that we wouldn’t necessarily say to other people because they might not understand. I feel really really really lucky to have Jane and I am so glad she came into my life.”
Jane, 49, added: “Esther has been a real anchor of support for me. Sometimes there are things that are just unsaid that you don’t actually need to say because we just understand. This is a life you never ever imagine you’ll be living and having to walk through, [but] to have somebody who can just guide you and say ‘I’ve experienced this’ is amazing.”
Lucy was visiting her “functioning alcoholic” dad Kris Harrison, in Texas, when he shot her in the chest on January 10, 2025. A coroner here ruled her death was unlawful but no criminal case was brought against him in the US as he claimed the gun went off accidentally, reports the ECHO.
Esther and Jane briefly met at a mindfulness workshop a year before Lucy died but it was her death that cemented their bond. Jane said: “When Lucy died, Esther got in touch through Brianna’s former headteacher, Emma, and they both came to visit me before the funeral. They sat for a good couple of hours and I just remember Esther listened with real empathy – and that meant so much. Our relationship has just grown from there.”
Brianna Ghey was stabbed 28 times with a hunting knife by teenage murderers Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe(Image: PA Media)
Although Lucy and Brianna never met, Esther believes their daughters have formed a strong bond too. She said: “My office is now in Brianna’s room, I have my desk in there and I really feel like she’s with me. One time I was sitting and thinking about Jane and I remember really feeling like Brianna and Lucy were with each other. I thought about how they would interact. I’ve never met Lucy, but it really felt like I was with them both and they were pushing us together.”
Jane feels the same, adding: “Before she died, we were sitting at the table having tea and I told Luce all about Esther. Normally she’d switch off and roll her eyes but she was genuinely interested and really invested in me doing it. It feels like Lucy and Brianna are with us too.”
After Brianna was killed by teenagers Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, Esther embarked on a mission to make the world a safer place for young people. She launched The Brianna Ghey Legacy Project which advocates for mindfulness in schools and her community interest company, running wellbeing sessions for pupils and their parents.
Lucy Harrison, from Warrington, died after she was shot by her dad in Texas(Image: Liverpool Echo)
As deputy head of a primary school, Jane decided to join Esther and 12 teachers at her school have now signed up for mindfulness training too. She said: “Esther and I are very similar and very aligned about wanting to push forward for change and we’re very in line in the way that we’re doing it. We’re not shouty people. We want to do it with compassion and with integrity. At my darkest time of grief, as well as having Esther’s friendship, she’s given me the opportunity to be passionate about something again.
“In those early days and months, you just become numb to the shock and I had to take time off work. But Esther gave me the opportunity, the encouragement and the belief that I could find passion again in something. I’ve reconnected and I’m so grateful for that.”
Lucy’s boyfriend Sam Littler issued his first public statement since the inquest earlier this week stating he had “concerns” over Mr Harrison’s drinking. He continued to say how he struggled with the fact the dad not only failed to travel to the inquest from his home in America but issued a statement to the media despite failing to face questions regarding his daughter’s death.
Lucy Harrison and her boyfriend Sam Littler(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Sam said: “The information shared in the coroner’s court was the first time I had heard, in a formal legal setting, a clear account of what was believed to have happened on 10 January 2025. I had held concerns for over a year which I chose not to express publicly placing my trust in the UK coroner’s process.
“Based on the evidence presented, the coroner found that Kris had been consuming alcohol without the knowledge of anyone else in the household before taking Lucy into a bedroom where she died from a gunshot wound to the chest. The coroner stated that this would have required the gun to have been pointed in Lucy’s direction from across the room, without checking whether it was loaded, before the trigger was pulled. The coroner described these actions as reckless.”
