B.C. coroner orders inquest into death of Tatyanna Harrison

A day after the family of Tatyanna Harrison called for a coroner's inquest into her death, the chief coroner has ordered the investigation.

One day after Natasha Harrison spoke at a news conference to demand an inquest into her daughter Tatyanna’s death, B.C.’s chief coroner announced he is reopening the investigation.

“Having reviewed the investigative findings regarding Tatyanna Harrison’s death and considering my obligation as chief coroner to ensure public confidence in the B.C. Coroners Service and its processes, I have ordered that the investigation into Tatyanna’s death be reopened,” said Dr. Jatinder Baidwan, in a statement Tuesday afternoon.

Baidwan also announced that he is ordering a coroner’s inquest in the case.

“An inquest will provide an opportunity for a broad, open and transparent review of the circumstances related to Tatyanna’s death, and my hope is that the jury will be able to make meaningful recommendations that will prevent similar deaths from occurring in the future,” he said.

In May 2022, police found 20-year-old Tatyanna’s remains, naked from the waist down, aboard a vessel in a Richmond boat yard.

Police say the First Nations woman’s death is not considered suspicious, but her mother has many unanswered questions.

“Even on the most basic level. No answers on her cause of death,” Harrison said Monday.

“No answers on a sexual assault kit done. No answers on how she came to travel about that marina.”

Harrison spoke Monday alongside the families Chelsea Poorman and Noelle O’Soup, who were each also found dead in the spring of 2022.

Poorman, 24, was last seen in the Granville Entertainment District in September of 2020. Her remains would be found 18 months later at an unoccupied Shaughnessy mansion under renovation.

O’Soup was just 13 years old when she ran away from a group home in May of 2021. Her remains would eventually be found in an SRO on East Hastings Street.

The coroners service’s investigations into the deaths of Poorman and O’Soup – both of whom were also Indigenous – are ongoing, according to Baidwan, who said Tuesday that coroners would “remain in communication” with both families as the process continues.

“Determinations about whether to proceed to inquest with these deaths will be made at a future date,” Baidwan said.

The timing of the inquest into Harrison’s death is also still to be determined, according to the chief coroner, who said more information about the inquest “will be provided in the coming weeks.”

“I offer my sincere condolences to the Harrison family for their loss and hope that this announcement is a step toward providing the closure they seek and deserve,” Baidwan said.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Ben Miljure