Mother of woman found dead in Richmond demands answers after coroner's inquest

Mother of Tatyanna Harrison: "She's worth it. I would go through hell until it was my last breath."

The mother of a 20-year-old woman found dead in Richmond in 2022 wants her daughter's death reopened for investigation. Tatyanna Harrison, a Cree, Métis and Brazilian woman, who was reported missing on May 3, 2022 to the Vancouver Police Department (VPD), was found deceased on a dry-dock yacht in east Richmond the day before. She was not identified until August, which was when her mother Natasha Harrison was notified of her death.

Natasha was joined by Sue Brown, Natasha's legal counsel, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and Latoya Farrell, policy staff counsel for the B.C. Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) at a press conference in Vancouver on July 13 to address the findings of the B.C. coroner's inquest, which began July 2 and concluded July 10. “I would like my daughter’s case properly investigated by someone who wants to do it, somebody who cares," said Natasha, alleging the entire investigation was based on assumptions. After last week's inquest, 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, it was thought Tatyanna died of an overdose, but an autopsy found "therapeutic" or non-lethal levels of fentanyl in her system, which resulted in her death later attributed to sepsis. However, police were not notified about the change in cause of death immediately. When Natasha learned her daughter was found in a state with no pants, underwear, shoes or socks, unexplained sores on the front of each hip and pelvis, and facial bruising, she pushed for a sexual assault forensic exam, which the BC Coroners Service said would be done by the Richmond RCMP.

In late 2023, Natasha found Richmond RCMP never tested the sexual assault kit samples and was told police did not deem her daughter's death "to be criminal," adding they could "not process the labs from the sexual assault kit" if there was "no evidence of criminal wrongdoing." She stated at July 13's press conference that having the samples tested early on could have ruled out sexual assault. "Just test the sexual assault kit.

Tell us it didn't happen. That's it. You could have just opened and shut that."

Jury recommendations 'missed a lot' Tatyanna's case involved two separate police investigations where VPD was responsible for her missing persons file, which Surrey RCMP had for "a short period of time" and Richmond RCMP, along with the coroners service, were responsible for her death investigation. Both the VPD and Richmond RCMP investigations ran parallel separately and "failed to identify Tatyanna" until three months later, explained Brown. VPD also testified at the inquest that it does not use the Provincial Standards for Missing Person Investigations and has no regular training for officers on missing persons cases, according to a joint press release from Justice for Girls, BCCLA and the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs.

While Natasha is "grateful" to the jury panel for the inquest, she said their recommendations "missed a lot" as they solely focused on missing persons policy, rather than death investigations. The jury's recommendations were: - Ensure adequate training for missing persons investigations. - Include Indigenous liaison officers in missing persons investigative units.

- Ensure effective communications regarding related disciplinary proceedings with the Office in charge of Policing Standards. - Ensure police agencies are accountable for compliance with the standards, including response timelines to determinations of non-compliance. - Consider requiring police agencies to verify investigative findings from other agencies and seek those agencies' approval before communicating such findings to the public.

- Ensure missing persons risk assessment templates used by all police agencies meet the provincial policing standards and clearly define high risk. - Consider developing community networks and self-identification programs to help locate missing persons. - Amend the registration of death and document control number 19979844 to reflect the Aboriginal status of Tatyana Harrison, and identify Natasha Harrison as her mother.

Brown added none of the eight recommendations touched on how Tatyanna's actual death was investigated. She further said evidence collected in the missing persons investigation could have "potentially shed light" on the investigation by Richmond RCMP. Brown urged the province to look into how agencies across B.C. can "coordinate to effectively combine their resources and take another look at this case."

"I would say that we have some concerns about why investigators didn't question their assumptions from the beginning about this being a drug overdose and how both the coroners service and the RCMP continued to proceed in their various investigations as if this was a drug overdose despite evidence pointing in a different direction," said Brown. She highlighted RCMP policy, which requires officers "investigate all reportable deaths as suspicious and collect evidence that's capable of determining what the cause of death was." Brown told media Monday the Richmond RCMP investigation into Tatyanna's death "stopped short on the basis of assumptions," which she believes were rooted in "discriminatory stereotypes" of marginalized young women who are "living in poverty, are drug users," and who may be connected to the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver.

Drug paraphernalia was found around Tatyanna when she died, but the drugs at the scene were not field tested with "no conclusive evidence" that she had drugs in her system at the time, explained Brown. "They had no information to say so, and no information to say that she'd used the paraphernalia at the scene," she added. "Contrary to [RCMP's] policy, the testimony that we heard from the RCMP suggests that assumptions and bias shapes the investigation from the beginning."

Natasha stated she has "lost complete faith" in the system, the police and the BC Coroners Service, describing how the coroner took her "for a loop." "I was naive to believe that they were going to tell me facts. And they did not tell me facts at all.

Not from what I heard," she said. When asked whether she has confidence the jury's recommendations will protect other families, Natasha said no. "They haven't done anything in the past that would have protected my daughter.

So I am having a really hard time that they're going to do anything in the future. I have no trust. I have no confidence."

Family calls for accountability Meanwhile, it was only during the inquest that it was unveiled Tatyanna's body was buried in August 2023 — a year after she was identified — without the family's knowing. Investigating coroner Cynthia Hogan was added to the witness list later on last week. If it were not for Hogan during during the inquest testimony, Brown said they were not sure they "would have learned otherwise" about Tatyanna's burial.

“The coroners service released my daughter’s body to the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction without my consent or knowledge. I went into this inquest seeking answers. I am coming out planning a burial ceremony for my daughter, who has been lying in an unmarked grave in Surrey for three years," said Natasha.

Brown said Natasha has suffered greatly and had to push for answers about her daughter's death at every step, and that the coroners service and police need to take responsibility. "Here we are at the end of an inquest with a list of questions that may never be answered because the evidence was never collected, including Tatyanna's cause of death." This includes evidence like the yacht, where Tatyanna was found, which has since been destroyed with any evidence it may have held, according to Brown.

She further added this case reflects a troubling pattern and a "repeat of the systemic failures" that were identified in the Pickton investigations, where discriminatory assumptions had shaped investigations and "basic steps were not followed." "All of the agencies involved need to be accountable for what went wrong here, and we need assurances that this will never happen again," she added. When asked what Natasha would want to say to her daughter now that the inquest has concluded, she didn't hesitate to say "you're worth it."

"She's worth it. I would go through hell until it was my last breath. I'll get dragged.

I will. I'd fight for her until ... I can't fight anymore.

I always have and I always will." 📣 Got an opinion on this story or any others in Richmond? Send us a letter or email your thoughts or story tips to [email protected].

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