Death of Haitian asylum seeker released from ICE custody ruled a homicide

On June 12, 2026, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death of Daphy Michel, a 31-year-old Haitian asylum seeker, a homicide, with hypothermia as the cause of death. Michel had been released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in Pittsburgh on February 27, 2026, fitted with an ankle monitor. The forensic pathologist described her as "a vulnerable adult, suffering from untreated severe mental health issues and a significant language barrier" at the moment of her release. She was found on the ground at a bus shelter near Station Square on March 1 and died on March 2 after being hospitalized. A homicide manner-of-death ruling, the family's attorney explained, means the death "was caused by the action or omission of someone" — that there is "some sort of culpability."

The attorney, Joseph Patrick Murphy, who represents Michel's family, blamed ICE directly, saying the agency knew of her mental-health crises — she had at one point been arrested for "screaming at imaginary people" — and nonetheless "just dumped her in a bus shelter" and "left her to fend for herself." He said the family expects to sue ICE. The Department of Homeland Security denied responsibility, telling KDKA-TV that Michel was released "in sunny weather" with her belongings and a charged phone.

The Standing records this as an instance of violence in immigration enforcement. Although Michel was not in physical custody at the moment of death — a county homicide ruling nonetheless traces the cause to the federal government's decision to release a person it knew to be acutely vulnerable into freezing conditions without support. The abusive character lies in the conditions and conduct of the enforcement operation itself, not in a detention-facility setting, which is why this entry is mapped to violence-in-immigration-enforcement rather than deaths-in-custody.

Updates

2026-08-02 — Attorney said family will sue US and other entities within weeks [5, 6]

Attorney Joseph Murphy said the family's lawsuit will be filed within the next two to three weeks against the United States and "multiple other governmental and non-governmental entities," according to an exclusive Guardian report. Murphy had previously said at the time of the homicide ruling that relatives were likely to sue; the filing's identities of plaintiffs and defendants were not yet available.