PITTSBURGH — The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office ruled that hypothermia caused the death of 31-year-old Daphy Michel on March 2, 2026. The medical examiner classified her manner of death as a homicide, following her release by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on February 27, 2026.

ICE officers arrested Michel in her jail cell, placed an ankle monitor on her, and transported her 25 miles to Pittsburgh on February 27, 2026. Prior to her release, the medical examiner's office stated that Michel was a vulnerable adult with untreated severe mental health issues and a language barrier. Michel, a native of Haiti, arrived at the U.S. southern border in 2022 and had been granted humanitarian parole based on urgent humanitarian need.

Pittsburgh Regional Transit video recorded Michel sitting at a bus shelter on East Carson Street near the Smithfield Street Bridge at 10:48 p.m. on February 28, 2026. The transit footage showed Michel remained at the bus shelter through March 1 and into the morning of March 2. By 8:36 a.m. on March 2, video footage recorded her sitting on the ground at the bus shelter, and within an hour she was lying on the ground. Michel was transported to a hospital after being found unresponsive and pulseless, where she was pronounced dead.

Joseph Patrick Murphy, an attorney for the Michel family, said, "She was in September clothes and it was February, and the weather overwhelmed her and she went into hypothermia." Michel had an asylum hearing scheduled for two weeks after her death. Mr. Murphy expects her family to file a lawsuit against ICE in connection with her death.

Michel had been arrested in the summer prior to her death for publicly yelling due to psychiatric challenges. She spent six months in Washington County Jail undergoing multiple psychiatric examinations while awaiting a hearing. A magistrate determined she could not be held for trial for threatening imaginary people. U.S. Representative Summer Lee stated that Michel's death was preventable. Lee said, "She deserved care, shelter, language access, and medical support."

Carlo Michel, Daphy Michel's brother, said, "I don't know if it's true, if it's reality. I need the justice for my sister."