A woman's hypothermia death in Pittsburgh after her release from ICE custody is ruled a homicide

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By JACK DURA
Updated 1:54 PM CDT, June 13, 2026

A medical examiner has ruled the death of a Haitian asylum seeker after being released from federal custody a homicide. An attorney representing her family said he expects her relatives to sue Immigration and Customs Enforcement in connection with her death.

Daphy Michel, 31, died March 2. She was found at a bus shelter. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office found her cause of death to be hypothermia and ruled the manner a homicide, “indicating the death was caused by the actions of another individual” and should not be interpreted as a declaration of criminal guilt, the office said in a statement. The office released its findings Friday.

Michel was a native of Haiti who was seeking asylum in the U.S. after arriving at the southern border in 2022, said Joseph Patrick Murphy, her family’s attorney. She was granted humanitarian parole based on urgent humanitarian need, but she did not live to see a hearing scheduled for two weeks after she died, he said.

The medical examiner’s office said 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, the office said.


This photo provided by the Michel Family shows Daphy Michel, an asylum seeker from Haiti who died March 2, 2026 in Pittsburgh, in the wake of her release from federal custody. (Michel Family via AP)

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/haiti-woman-homicide-ice-e31e7109eba053b41f6b0319640df042

[littlemissmartypants]

1. ...

[Bayard]

2. This happened to a man in NY as well

So, why are the ICE agents responsible not in jail?

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/blind-rohingya-refugee-cbp-buffalo-determined-homicide-rcna266292

[SergeStorms]

7. They'll find....

some low level ICE castoff to serve 3 yrs. (12 months with "good behavior" ) after they've paid him off handsomely for his "pain and suffering" while in jail.

They'll give the family a few bucks and have them sign a NDA and it'll all be swept under the rug, just like every other Trump fuck-up.

They really don't care how many people die as long as Orange Jubus looks like a tough guy.

[IronLionZion]

8. Because they want to encourage more of this. Cruelty is the point

[Mysterian]

3. The jack-booted American Gestapo murders another American

Where is the outrage from the freedom-loving "patriots" of the right wing?

[calimary]

4. They're probably the ones expressing pride that "this was done in their name".

[nuxvomica]

5. "Depraved-heart murder"

In which someone dies as a result of another's actions that represent a depraved indifference to human life. ICE communications subject to discovery may reveal that. There are plenty of public statements by Stephen Miller, et al., that might be evidence of such depraved indifference. Certainly there are plenty that show he is simply depraved.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depraved-heart_murder

[niyad]

6. May all involved receive everything they deserve.

[sakabatou]

9. May the agents who were involved die painfully by hypothermia

[progree]

10. ICE is no longer reporting the deaths of detainees within 30 days of their release from custody

ICE is no longer reporting the deaths of detainees within 30 days of their release from custody, ending a 2021 Biden-era policy. Health experts say the change will reflect fewer deaths than actually occur without addressing issues in medical care.

From the last paragraph of the article