Daphy Michel, a 31-year-old Haitian asylum seeker who lived in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, spent six months in the Washington County jail on misdemeanor charges. When the charges were withdrawn she was handed to ICE, fitted with an ankle monitor and released in Pittsburgh in late February 2026 (February 27 by the medical examiner's and DHS's account; PublicSource reported February 28). She had untreated severe mental illness and a significant language barrier. She was found unresponsive at a bus shelter near Station Square after spending at least 24 hours there, largely in sub-freezing temperatures, and died of hypothermia on March 2.
On June 12, 2026, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide, finding she was “a vulnerable adult, suffering from untreated severe mental health issues and a significant language barrier when she was released from federal custody.” The office said the finding means the death was caused by the actions of another individual but is “not to be interpreted as a declaration of criminal guilt.” Joseph Patrick Murphy, an attorney for her family, said the ruling “means that the death was caused by the action or omission of someone.”
ICE denies responsibility. DHS spokesperson Lauren Bis said, “ICE had NOTHING to do with this woman's death. She passed away THREE days after ICE encountered her,” adding that Michel was released with her belongings and a charged phone. The case returned to national attention in early August, when the Guardian reported the family was preparing to sue the United States and “multiple other governmental and non-governmental entities.” It turns on whether releasing a severely mentally ill woman alone into freezing weather, rather than to care, was an omission that led to her death (see The ACLU Files 54 Claims Across 17 States Alleging a Nationwide Pattern of ICE Abuse, the First Step Toward Suing the Government).
Update (October 2, 2026): Pittsburgh police said on August 19 they had concluded their homicide investigation and sent the case to Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala to decide on charges. On September 3 the DA's office said the case “remains under review and investigation by our office.”
Correction (October 2, 2026): The entry said Michel was released under the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program and called Lauren Bis DHS's acting secretary; the sources describe an ICE ankle monitor without naming the program, and identify Bis as a DHS spokesperson. It said the case resurfaced in late July; the national coverage cited here dates to early August. The headline's reference to a coroner was changed to the medical examiner, which made the ruling.