B.C. coroner's inquest finds Indigenous woman's death undetermined, family demands reopening

The mother of Tatyanna Harrison, a Cree, Métis and Brazilian woman found dead on a dry-dock yacht in east Richmond in 2022, wants her daughter's death reopened for investigation following a coroner's inquest.

Tatyanna was reported missing on May 3, 2022 to the Vancouver Police Department and was found deceased the day before on the yacht. She was not identified until August, which was when her mother Natasha Harrison was notified of her death.

On Tuesday, July 13, Natasha was joined by legal counsel Sue Brown, the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, and others at a press conference in Vancouver to address the findings of the B.C. coroner's inquest, which began July 2 and concluded July 10. The jury found the Indigenous woman's cause of death on May 1, 2022 to be "undetermined," which Natasha and Brown said conflicted with the coroner's previous findings.

At first, police believed Tatyanna died of an overdose, but an autopsy found "therapeutic" or non-lethal levels of fentanyl in her system. Her death was later attributed to sepsis. However, police were not notified about the change in cause of death immediately.

When Natasha learned her daughter was found without pants, underwear, shoes or socks, with unexplained sores on the front of each hip and pelvis, and facial bruising, she pushed for a sexual assault forensic exam. In late 2023, Natasha discovered Richmond RCMP never tested the sexual assault kit samples and was told police did not deem her daughter's death "to be criminal." "Just test the sexual assault kit. Tell us it didn't happen. That's it. You could have just opened and shut that," Natasha said.

The inquest revealed that the Vancouver Police Department does not use the Provincial Standards for Missing Person Investigations and has no regular training for officers on missing persons cases. The jury made recommendations to ensure adequate training for missing persons investigations, include Indigenous liaison officers in missing persons investigative units, and ensure police agencies are accountable for compliance with provincial standards.