The Brief Daphy Michel's death was ruled a homicide by a Pennsylvania county medical examiner's office. Michel, a native of Haiti, was found at a Pittsburgh bus shelter. She was seeking asylum in the U.S. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told the Associated Press via email that ICE had nothing to do with Michel's death.



The death of a Haitian woman seeking asylum after her release from federal custody was ruled a homicide by a medical examiner.

Daphy Michel died on March 2. The 31-year-old woman was found at a bus shelter in Pittsburgh, with the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office sharing in their report on June 12 that her cause of death to be hypothermia and ruled a homicide.


The medical examiner's office told the AP that Michel was a vulnerable adult  suffering from untreated severe mental health issues and a significant language barrier  at the time of her release on Feb. 27.

A lawyer representing her family told The Associated Press that he expects her family members to sue Immigration and Customs Enforcement in connection with her death.

Her family's attorney also shared with the AP that Michel, a native of Haiti, was seeking asylum in the U.S. after arriving at the southern border in 2022.

The attorney added that Michel was granted humanitarian parole due to an important humanitarian need, but she did not live to see a hearing scheduled for two weeks after she passed away.

What happened in the Daphy Michel incident?

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In 2025, Daphy Michel was arrested for yelling at imaginary people because of her psychiatric challenges, her family's attorney told The Associated Press.

Michel spent six months in a Washington County Jail, where she underwent multiple psychiatric evaluations as she awaited her first hearing.


The lawyer explained to the AP that a magistrate stated that he could not hold Michel for trial for threatening imaginary people.

ICE later arrested her in her cell, p

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