Photo of Daphy Michel provided by family.

Officials ruled Daphy Michel’s death a homicide, citing actions or inaction by others, though the finding does not determine criminal guilt.

The death of a Haitian asylum seeker, Daphy Michel, who froze to death at a Pittsburgh bus shelter days after being released from ICE custody has been ruled a homicide by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The ruling, released Friday, found her cause of death to be hypothermia and determined it was caused by “the actions of another individual” — a legal designation that does not constitute a criminal charge, the office clarified. In March, theGrio reported on the death of Emmanuel Damas, a 56-year-old Haitian man who died after months in ICE detention with an untreated tooth infection, part of what advocates have called a pattern of medical neglect. TheGrio has also covered ICE’s grant of total authorization to agents as immigration enforcement has escalated under the Trump administration. According to NBC News, which cited an Associated Press report, Michel was a “vulnerable adult suffering from untreated severe mental health issues and a significant language barrier” when she was released on February 27.

Michel, 31, was a native of Haiti who arrived at the southern border in 2022 seeking asylum. She had been granted humanitarian parole and had a hearing scheduled for two weeks after her death, said her family’s attorney, Joseph Patrick Murphy. Last summer she was arrested for yelling at imaginary people due to psychiatric challenges, spending six months in Washington County Jail before a magistrate ruled he could not hold her for threatening imaginary people. ICE then arrested her in her cell, placed an ankle monitor on her, and transported her 25 miles to Pittsburgh. “She was in September clothes and it was February, and the weather overwhelmed her and she went into hypothermia,” Murphy said. Michel was found dead at a bus shelter on March 2.

Murphy said the ruling means “somebody did or failed to do something that brought about her demise,” and said he expects her family to file a civil lawsuit against ICE.

The Department of Homeland Security disputed responsibility. “ICE had NOTHING to do with this woman’s death. She passed away THREE days after ICE encountered her,” said spokesperson Lauren Bis, who added that Michel had all her belongings and a fully charged phone when released. ICE learned of her death via news media, Bis said.

Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato called Michel’s death “a tragedy” that “appears that with a little humanity, it could have been completely avoidable.” The ruling also comes as ICE has ended a Biden-era policy requiring it to report detainee deaths within 30 days of their release from custody.