Inquest reveals Tatyanna Harrison's remains buried without family's knowledge or consent
The mother of a young Indigenous woman found dead at a Richmond marina in 2022 learned during an inquest that her daughter's body was sent for burial without her permission.
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The mother of Tatyanna Harrison, a 20-year-old found dead on a boat at a Richmond marina in 2022, learned during an inquest Tuesday that her daughter's remains had been sent for burial or cremation without her knowledge or consent.
Coroner Cynthia Hogan made the decision after repeatedly asking Natasha Harrison to make funeral arrangements. The revelation prompted Harrison to become overcome with emotion, and the inquest was paused.
Tatyanna went missing from the Downtown Eastside in spring 2022 and was found on May 1, 2022, unclothed from the waist down on a boat in drydock known to be used for transient drug use. Police and coroners investigating said they saw no evidence of criminality at the scene.
Natasha Harrison has questioned whether her daughter was drugged, assaulted, or overdosed deliberately—a "hot shot." She requested a forensic sexual assault exam, which was performed in October or November 2022, but Richmond RCMP never analyzed the swabs. An autopsy found no evidence of sexual assault or trauma, though the inquest heard testimony about marks on Tatyanna's hips and a bruise on her pubic bone.
The coroner initially attributed death to a fentanyl overdose based on preliminary toxicology, but later changed the cause to sepsis after further testing. Her remains' current location is unknown, Hogan said, and Harrison's lawyer asked the coroner to locate them.
