Coroner’s inquest jury issues recommendations in death of Tatyanna Harrison

A coroner’s inquest jury has issued eight recommendations following the death of Tatyanna Harrison, a 20-year-old Indigenous woman whose case raised questions about how her disappearance and death were investigated.

The jury also classified Harrison’s cause of death as undetermined.

Harrison disappeared from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside in April 2022. On May 2, RCMP found an unidentified woman dead aboard a dry-docked yacht in Richmond. She was found naked from the waist down. The following day, Harrison’s mother, Natasha Harrison, reported her missing.

Investigators later determined the woman was Harrison, but it took more than three months and DNA testing to confirm her identity.

Police initially believed Harrison died from fentanyl toxicity. A later autopsy changed the cause of death to sepsis and her death was ultimately ruled non-criminal.

More than four years later, after hearing testimony about the investigation and its aftermath, a coroner’s inquest jury issued eight non-binding recommendations aimed at improving how similar cases are handled in the future.

Among the recommendations are calls for better training for police officers investigating missing-person cases, the use of Indigenous liaison officers in missing-person units, clearer standards for identifying high-risk missing people, greater police accountability to provincial standards and increased community involvement in efforts to locate people who go missing.

Coroner’s inquests do not assign blame or determine criminal or civil liability. Instead, they examine the circumstances surrounding a death and can make recommendations intended to prevent similar deaths in the future.

Following the conclusion of the inquest, Natasha Harrison’s lawyer, Sue Brown of Justice for Girls, read a statement on her behalf that raised concerns about the handling of Tatyanna Harrison’s remains.

Brown said Natasha Harrison learned during the inquest that her daughter had been buried in an unmarked grave in Surrey, without her consent.

“Natasha, from the beginning, was steadfast in not releasing Tatyanna’s body from the B.C. Coroners Service because she wanted a second opinion on her cause of death,” Brown said. “But three years ago, without her knowledge or consent, the coroners service took that decision away from her and acted against her clearly stated wishes.”

In a statement to CTV News, the coroners service said it is not responsible for burial or cremation decisions.

“Once the B.C. Coroners Service releases authority over a body and makes a referral to the Public Guardian and Trustee, which can involve the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, it becomes the responsibility of those entities to communicate with family members,” the agency said.

CTV News contacted the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction regarding the allegations and questions surrounding Harrison’s burial. The ministry did not respond before deadline.

Brown said Natasha Harrison is devastated and will need time to process the jury’s recommendations. Harrison and her representatives are expected to speak with media Monday.