Latest news with #TatyannaHarrison
Global News
07-05-2025
- Global News
‘Hard to regain my trust,' says Tatyanna Harrison's mother after inquest called
The mother of a young Indigenous woman found dead in B.C. three years ago says she's grappling with mixed emotions now that a coroner's inquest has been called in the case. Tatyanna Harrison was found dead on a drydocked yacht in Richmond in May 2022. Her remains were actually found a day before she was reported missing, but it was four months before she was properly identified, and her family has since raised numerous concerns about how the case was handled. After her mother, Natasha Harrison, and the families of another Indigenous woman and teen found dead in 2022 raised public questions about all three cases on Monday, the province's chief coroner ordered the inquest into Tatyanna's case. No inquests, however, have been called into the other two cases. 2:18 Vigil held for Tatyanna Harrison, Chelsea Poorman and Noelle O'Soup 'It's such a weird emotion … I've been through them all, you know, but there's been a few that I had never felt in my life with my daughter, and this was another one — I had never been so excited for such tragic news,' Natasha said. Story continues below advertisement 'I can't help but have my heart go out to Chelsea Poorman's family and Noelle O'Soup's family, like it doesn't feel complete until an inquest is called for them, you know.' Poorman was found in a vacant Shaughnessy mansion, while O'Soup was found in a Downtown Eastside apartment, after being overlooked by investigators who had visited the unit several times. Both families have raised serious concerns about how they died and how their investigations were handled. Unanswered questions Natasha and her supporters have raised many concerns about the case. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Initially, officials said Tatyanna had died of a toxic dose of fentanyl, but months later, the coroner ruled she died of sepsis. Shortly after her daughter was identified in August, Natasha spoke with the coroner — the first of a series of conversations she said left her with more questions than answers. Story continues below advertisement 'I asked in detail many questions that have now proven to be appropriate questions that needed to be asked, and right then, I didn't believe it was an overdose,' she said. 'And then when they overturned it to sepsis … I asked questions again, like if you're going to say sepsis, how did you come to that? And that's when I was like, this isn't adding up.' 2:19 VPD releases new information about missing B.C. Indigenous woman The family commissioned an independent pathologist who disagreed with that conclusion, finding the cause of death should be ruled undetermined. Natasha said she also had to fight to have a rape kit performed on her daughter's body, despite the fact the 20-year-old was found partially clothed. She said investigators offered 'every excuse' as to why her daughter would be unclothed, 'except the most reasonable,' adding she was given the impression the 'whole investigation was based off of bias and prejudice.' Story continues below advertisement She also questions why there was no CCTV footage of her daughter entering the vessel, despite the boat yard having 24-hour security. Hard to regain my trust While she considers the inquest a victory, Natasha said it will be hard not to be skeptical going into it. 'I think it's gonna be hard to regain my trust after the three years,' she said. Under B.C. law, inquests are fact-finding exercises that cannot delegate blame but can make recommendations to prevent similar deaths in the future. 3:44 Remains of Noelle O'Soup overlooked in Vancouver apartment building for months Natasha said that's somewhat frustrating, given many of the recommendations she believes it will generate will simply echo the 231 Calls for Justice laid out by the 2019 National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. According to the Assembly of First Nations, just two of those calls for justice have been fully implemented, six years later. Story continues below advertisement 'I hope they start implementing those calls to justice; like, there's things that could have prevented my daughter from passing. There's already been requests made, you know, recommendations made,' she said. 'We could have three women, two women and a young girl alive today if these recommendations had been implemented.' She added that she'd like to see a more fulsome probe of how the investigation itself was handled, rather than simply the circumstances surrounding her daughter's death. 2:11 Vancouver officers investigated for neglect of duty in Chelsea Poorman case And she said it will be hard to feel peace until similar inquests are called into the deaths of Noelle O'Soup and Chelsea Poorman — whose families have both raised similar concerns. Despite that, she said she won't hesitate to attend the inquest. Story continues below advertisement 'I'll do whatever it takes to make sure she gets the justice she deserves,' she said. 'In the hopes to bring awareness and get the justice for the other girls as well, because they deserve an inquest as much as Tatyanna.' The coroner's office says Poorman and O'Soup's cases still remain open.
CBC
07-05-2025
- CBC
Family's push leads to reopened investigation into Tatyanna Harrison's death
B.C.'s chief coroner has ordered the investigation into a young Indigenous woman's death be reopened, a day after the family publicly called for an inquest. The body of 20-year-old Tatyanna Harrison was found on a docked yacht in Richmond in May 2022. Meera Bains reports.
CTV News
07-05-2025
- CTV News
Inquest ordered for Indigenous woman's death
Vancouver Watch A day after her family publicly called for an inquest, B.C.'s chief coroner has ordered the investigation into Tatyanna Harrison's death reopened.
CTV News
07-05-2025
- CTV News
Tatyanna Harrison death investigation reopened, inquest ordered, B.C. coroner says
Tatyanna Harrison was found dead on a boat in Richmond in May 2022. B.C.'s chief coroner has reopened the investigation into her death. (Handout photo)
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.
