BC Coroners Service orders inquest into death of 20-year-old Indigenous woman

British Columbia’s chief coroner has ordered that the investigation into a young Indigenous woman's death be reopened.

On Tuesday, Jatinder Baidwan said he is directing a coroner’s inquest to publicly review the circumstances that led to the death of Tatyanna Harrison.

The order comes just one day after family members of Harrison, 20, Chelsea Poorman, 24, and 13-year-old Noelle O'Soup demanded a coroner's inquiry into their deaths.

Harrison was reported missing in May 2022.

She was found dead on an abandoned yacht in Richmond and identified in August 2022.

At that time, the Coroners Service initially informed the Vancouver Police Doctor that Tatyanna died from drug overdose but it was later found that she died of sepsis.

“As a parent, I cannot fathom the trauma and grief that the Harrison family has experienced over the past three years. The pain of losing a child is unimaginable, and the concerns the Harrisons have expressed regarding the circumstances of Tatyanna’s death only adds to that pain,” Baidwan said in a statement.

“Having reviewed the investigative findings regarding Tatyanna Harrison’s death and considering my obligation as chief coroner to ensure public confidence in the BC Coroners Service and its processes, I have ordered that the investigation into Tatyanna’s death be reopened.”

The inquest will provide an opportunity for a broad and transparent review of the circumstances related to Harrison’s death.

It will also see a jury make recommendations to avoid similar deaths from happening in the future, the statement said.

More details about when and where the inquest will be provided in the coming weeks.

As for the deaths of Poorman and O’Soup, the coroner's service said those investigations remain open.

Poorman's body was found 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.

Baidwan said a decision about proceeding with inquiries into those deaths will be made at a future date.