Home / Crime and Justice / Mother Devastated by Daughter's Unmarked Grave Burial
Mother Devastated by Daughter's Unmarked Grave Burial
11 Jul
Summary
- Tatyanna Harrison was buried in an unmarked grave without her mother's consent.
- Inquest jury reclassified cause of death as 'undetermined' after initial findings.
- Recommendations include adding Indigenous status to death registration.
The mother of Tatyanna Harrison expressed devastation upon discovering her daughter was buried in an unmarked grave at a Surrey cemetery three years ago. This occurred without her knowledge or consent, despite her wishes to obtain a second opinion on the cause of Tatyanna's death.
Tatyanna Harrison, a 20-year-old Indigenous woman, was reported missing in May 2022. Her body was found on a yacht with suspicious injuries and missing personal items. Initial findings suggested fentanyl toxicity, later revised to sepsis, but an inquest jury ultimately determined the cause of death as 'undetermined'.
The inquest jury issued eight recommendations, including updating Tatyanna's death registration to include her Aboriginal status and her mother's name. They also called for improved police training in missing person investigations and the addition of Indigenous liaison personnel to such units.
Advocacy groups note striking similarities between Tatyanna's death and those of other young Indigenous females, Chelsea Poorman and Noelle O'Soup, in 2022. They assert these cases are part of a larger crisis concerning murdered and missing Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people.
