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National Observer
07-05-2025
- National Observer
BC coroner reopens probe of Indigenous woman's death
British Columbia's chief coroner is reopening the investigation into the death of an Indigenous woman the day after her family went public with concerns about how her case was handled. Dr. Jatinder Baidwan said in a statement Tuesday that he's directing a coroner's inquest to publicly review the circumstances that led to the death of Tatyanna Harrison, whose body was found on a dry-docked yacht in Richmond, BC, in 2022. Baidwan said he has an obligation as chief coroner to ensure public confidence in the BC Coroners Service and its processes. On Monday, Harrison's mother, Natasha, appeared alongside family members of Chelsea Poorman and 13-year-old Noelle O'Soup, who also died in 2022, and called for an inquest into all three deaths. An advocacy group working with the families said Monday that a review by an independent forensic pathologist found Harrison's cause of death should have been ruled as "undetermined" rather than the official finding of sepsis after an autopsy by the coroner. Justice for Girls lawyer Sue Brown said in an interview Tuesday that news of the inquest has been a long time coming for Harrison's family. "I know that they're feeling very relieved at the moment, but given the work that it's taken to get here, that relief is qualified by the failures that have happened over the past three years and the work that we have ahead of us to learn more about what happened to Tatyanna," she said. Harrison was a 20-year-old Cree, Métis and Brazilian woman who was reported missing on May 3, 2022. Her remains were found in Richmond the day before she was reported missing but it took three months for her mother to be informed. Brown has said that no rape kit had been done during her autopsy, despite the fact that Harrison was found partially naked on the yacht with no explanation of how she got there, who she was with or why she was there. Investigators initially said her death was likely due to an overdose, before a coroner later concluded she died of sepsis. Baidwan said information about the date and location of the inquest would be provided in coming weeks. "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 the statement. Brown said Tuesday that it's important for there to be a resolution to the conflicting information about Harrison's cause of death and said the family still has many questions about the circumstances leading up to her death. "A win will be answers. And transparent answers," she said. Baidwan said investigations into the deaths of Poorman and O'Soup remain open and decisions about whether to hold inquests in those cases will be made in future. Poorman's body was discovered behind an abandoned home in Vancouver and the body of O'Soup was found in the apartment of a sex offender after he died in the Downtown Eastside. Brown said both of those cases still have many unanswered questions and she is hopeful more inquests will be called. "In both of those cases, we really hope that they'll do the right thing and call an inquest into them," she said.
Global News
07-05-2025
- Global News
Coroner orders probe into Tatyanna Harrison's death reopened, inquest to be held
British Columbia's chief coroner has ordered that the investigation into Tatyanna Harrison's death be reopened and that an inquest into how she died be held. It comes one day after Harrison's mother and two other families made a public call for inquests into their own loved ones' deaths. All three deaths — Harrison, 20, Chelsea Poorman, 24, and Noelle O'Soup, 13 — involved young Indigenous women and girls. Harrison was reported missing on May 3, 2022. Her remains were found on a drydocked yacht in Richmond the day prior, but not identified until August. Police initially said she died of a lethal dose of fentanyl, though a coroner subsequently said her death was a result of sepsis. 2:18 Vigil held for Tatyanna Harrison, Chelsea Poorman and Noelle O'Soup Her family later retained a licensed forensic pathologist to conduct an independent review, which disagreed with that finding, concluding the cause of death should be listed as 'undetermined.' Story continues below advertisement The group Justice for Girls told Media on Monday Harrison's family had to fight for a rape kit to be performed on her remains, even though she was found partially clothed. The kit still has not been processed, the group said. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Her mother and supporters maintain that the investigation was mishandled and deprioritized by police. 'Every question I had for the coroner, police and RCMP it didn't bring me clarity,' Tatayanna's mother, Natasha Harrison, told media on Monday. 'It has been three years of fighting for basic human rights for Tatyanna, fighting for a fair investigation for my daughter — for three years she hasn't been laid to rest, for three years I haven't been able to properly grieve her loss.' 2:19 VPD releases new information about missing B.C. Indigenous woman On Tuesday, Chief Coroner Dr. Jatinder Baidwan ordered the case reopened out of an obligation to 'ensure public confidence in the BC Coroners Service and its processes.' Story continues below advertisement '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.' But Baidwan stopped short of calling inquests into all three deaths as families had called for on Monday. He said investigations into Poorman and O'Soup's deaths remained open and decisions about a future inquest in their cases would be made at a later date.
Winnipeg Free Press
07-05-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
B.C. coroner reopens investigation of Indigenous woman's death
British Columbia's chief coroner says he is reopening the investigation into the death of an Indigenous woman the day after her family went public with concerns about how her case was handled. Dr. Jatinder Baidwan says he's directing a coroner's inquest to publicly review the circumstances that led to the death of Tatyanna Harrison, whose body was found on a dry-docked yacht in Richmond, B.C., in 2022. Baidwan says he has an obligation as chief coroner to ensure public confidence in the Coroners' Service and its processes. Tatyanna Harrison's mother, Natasha Harrison, cries as she speaks during a news conference at Justice for Girls in Vancouver on Monday, May 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns On Monday, Harrison's mother Natasha Harrison appeared alongside family members of Chelsea Poorman and 13-year-old Noelle O'Soup, who also died in 2022, and called for an inquest into all three deaths. An advocacy group working with the families said Monday that a review by an independent forensic pathologist found Harrison's cause of death should have been ruled as 'undetermined' rather than the official finding of sepsis after an autopsy by the coroner. Baidwan says investigations into the deaths of Poorman and O'Soup remain open and decisions about whether to hold inquests in those cases will be made in future. '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,' Baidwan says in the statement. He said information about the date and location of the inquest would be provided in coming weeks. Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Sign up for The Warm-Up Harrison was a 20-year-old Cree, Métis and Brazilian woman who was reported missing on May 3, 2022. Her remains were found in Richmond the day before she was reported missing but it took three months for her mother to be informed. A representative for the group Justice for Girls said Monday that no rape kit had been done during her autopsy, despite the fact that Tatyanna was found partially naked on the yacht with no explanation of how she got there, who she was with, or why she was there. Investigators initially said her death was likely due to an overdose, before a coroner later concluded she died of sepsis. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2025.
Global News
06-05-2025
- Global News
Families of Tatyanna Harrison, Chelsea Poorman, Noelle O'Soup call for inquest into deaths
The families of two Indigenous women and an Indigenous teen girl who were found dead in Metro Vancouver are calling for a coroner's inquest into their deaths. The families of Tatyanna Harrison, 20, Chelsea Poorman, 24, and Noelle O'Soup, 13, and the group Justice for Girls chose Red Dress Day, which honours missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, to press the issue. 2:18 Vigil held for Tatyanna Harrison, Chelsea Poorman and Noelle O'Soup Harrison was found dead aboard an abandoned yacht in Richmond in August 2022. Poorman was found in a vacant mansion on Vancouver's west side in May of the same year. O'Soup was found in a Downtown Eastside apartment, also in May 2022, after being overlooked by investigators who had visited the unit several times. Story continues below advertisement The families of each have long argued that their cases were mishandled and deprioritized by police. 'From the beginning of the investigations, the families were left to search for the missing girls on their own, to investigate their cases, to bring leads to investigators and hope they would be followed,' Justice for Girls staff lawyer Sue Brown said. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Their families' search for answers did not end when their deaths were deemed not criminal or not suspicious.' In 2022, the B.C. Coroners Service said Harrison died of sepsis. Harrison's family subsequently retained a licensed forensic pathologist to conduct an independent review of her file, which disagreed with that conclusion. Her family said it also had to advocate for a rape kit to be performed on Harrison, samples which still have not been processed. 'There have been no answers for three years. If you were to help somebody hide a crime that would be a crime itself, so I don't know what happens when our justice system does it,' her mother Natasha Harrison said. 2:11 Vancouver officers investigated for neglect of duty in Chelsea Poorman case 'Everything they did in Tatyana's case is exactly what you would have needed to do to fail her.' Story continues below advertisement Poorman and O'Soup's causes of death have not been determined. Poorman's mother, Sheila Poorman, said she's still been unable to get answers to many questions about Chelsea's case, including how or why she made it to the abandoned home. 'Chelsea was a person who wouldn't hurt anyone,' she said. 'She'd rather give whatever she had to help somebody, she would go out of her way to help a person in need, even though she didn't have the resources herself.' O'Soup's aunt Josie August said the young teen was 'failed at every level by this country, by this government, by child welfare, by the Vancouver police by the RCMP' after running away from her group home. 1:06 Families call out Vancouver police for Indigenous investigations 'We've found more out from the media than from Vancouver police, from the (Ministry of Children and Family Development), and this has caused great harm to the family, where we no longer can watch the news,' she said. Story continues below advertisement 'Her family in Saskatchewan found out she was discovered through social media, through the news.' Brown said the way the three cases were handled exactly mirrors the systemic failures to protect Indigenous women and girls highlighted by Canada's national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls — an exercise that produced many recommendations and little real action. Holding an inquest, she said, is an opportunity for the province to right an 'egregious historical wrong.' 'It's an opportunity for the coroner's office to regain public trust and bring much-needed answers as to what happened to Tatyanna, Noelle and Chelsea,' she said. Global News is seeking comment from Public Safety Minister Gary Begg.
Vancouver Sun
06-05-2025
- Vancouver Sun
Families demand coroner's inquest into death of three Indigenous females in B.C.
Article content Tatyanna Harrison was someone who always fought for justice, but she hasn't been given the same treatment by investigators since her death, her mother said through tears on Monday. Article content Article content Now Natasha Harrison, along with family members of two other Indigenous females and a B.C. advocacy group say they want more answers and a coroner's inquest into the deaths of their loved ones three years ago. Article content Article content 'I miss my baby girl,' Natasha Harrison said. 'I remember going into stores, and I couldn't pass someone in need without her making me help them, even if I was broke.' Article content 'She just wanted fairness and justice. And the irony is she's being failed in that very way,' she said. Article content All three Indigenous females were found dead in Metro Vancouver, and the families say a lack of answers from investigating authorities prompted the demand for the coroner's inquest. Article content Article content The Justice for Girls lawyer, Sue Brown, said during a news conference Monday that they need to know more about the deaths of Harrison, 20, Chelsea Poorman, 24, and Noelle O'Soup, 13. Article content Brown said the group sent a letter to Public Safety Minister Garry Begg, asking for the inquest. Article content 'All three of these cases from the very beginning were the subject of massive failures by all of the investigative authorities involved,' Brown said. 'When it comes to the quality of police investigations, those flow directly from the findings of the coroner and the quality the coroner's investigation.' Article content Article content Harrison's body was found in Richmond, Poorman's body was discovered behind an abandoned home in Vancouver, and O'Soup's body was found in the apartment of a sex offender after he died in the Downtown Eastside. Article content Justice for Girls said Harrison was found partly clothed in an abandoned yacht in dry dock, and investigators initially said her death was likely due to an overdose, but a coroner later concluded she died of sepsis. Article content The group, with the permission of family members, hired an independent forensic pathologist, Brown said, which found the cause of Harrison's death should have been ruled as 'undetermined.' Article content She said police based their findings on the coroner's conclusion and haven't advanced the investigation.
