A Pennsylvania medical examiner has classified the death of Daphy Michel, a 31-year-old Haitian asylum seeker, as a homicide, finding that her fatal hypothermia resulted from actions or failures by another party.
Michel was discovered at a Pittsburgh bus shelter on March 2, days after being released from federal immigration custody. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office determined she died from exposure to freezing temperatures and formally ruled the manner of death a homicide, though officials clarified this designation does not constitute a criminal charge.
Michel arrived at the U.S. southern border in 2022 seeking asylum from Haiti. She was granted humanitarian parole based on urgent need but never lived to attend a hearing scheduled for two weeks after her death. At the time of her release on February 27, the medical examiner's office noted she was a vulnerable adult with untreated severe mental health issues and significant language barriers.
The circumstances leading to her death paint a troubled trajectory through the criminal justice system. Michel was arrested the previous summer for yelling at imaginary people related to her psychiatric condition. She spent six months in Washington County jail undergoing multiple psychiatric evaluations while awaiting her initial hearing. After a magistrate determined he could not hold her for trial on charges of threatening imaginary people, Immigration and Customs Enforcement took her into custody directly from her cell.
ICE placed an ankle monitor on Michel and transported her 25 miles away to Pittsburgh, according to her family's attorney, Joseph Patrick Murphy. She was then left at a bus shelter in winter clothing inadequate for February temperatures. "She was in September clothes and it was February, and the weather overwhelmed her and she went into hypothermia," Murphy said.
The family's attorney announced plans to file a lawsuit against ICE. He explained that the homicide ruling means "somebody did or failed to do something that brought about her demise."
ICE and the Department of Homeland Security pushed back sharply against the characterization. Spokesperson Lauren Bis stated in an email that "ICE had NOTHING to do with this woman's death," emphasizing Michel died three days after the agency encountered her. Bis said Michel was released with all her belongings, a fully charged phone, and access to public transportation.
According to the DHS account, ICE discovered the day after Michel's death that her ankle monitor had been tampered with. Officials attempted to coordinate with the medical examiner's office but claimed staff refused to cooperate. ICE learned of her death through media reports, not through official channels.
The case has drawn scrutiny from state and federal officials. Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato called Michel's death "a tragedy" that "appears that with a little humanity, it could have been completely avoidable." U.S. House member Summer Lee, a Pennsylvania Democrat, described the death as preventable and said Michel "deserved care, shelter, language access, and medical support."
A separate policy development adds context to the scrutiny. ICE has stopped reporting deaths of detainees within 30 days of their release from custody, ending a practice that began during the Biden administration in 2021. Health experts say this change will result in undercounting actual deaths without addressing the underlying medical care issues that contribute to them.
Author James Rodriguez: "The medical examiner's ruling is unambiguous, and ICE's defensive response only highlights the agency's failure to grapple with how a vulnerable woman with untreated mental illness ended up abandoned in the cold."
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