The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office says the death of Daphy Michel, a Haitian-born woman who was found unresponsive at a Pittsburgh bus shelter days after her release by immigration agents, was a homicide.
Michel, 31, of Charleroi died of hypothermia March 2 at UPMC Presbyterian hospital soon after first responders transported her from a bus shelter on East Carson Street in Pittsburgh’s South Side.
She had been released in the city Feb. 27 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, who had picked Michel up a day earlier and issued her an ankle monitor.
“The opinion of the forensic pathologist in this case is that Ms. Michel was a vulnerable adult, suffering from untreated severe mental health issues and a significant language barrier when she was released from federal custody on February 27,” according to a statement from Jim Madalinsky, a spokesman for the medical examiner’s office. “Based on all available information during the investigation, the pathologist ruled Ms. Michel’s death a homicide.”
Madalinsky cautioned, however, that the ruling is “a standard manner of death determination indicating the death was caused by the actions of another individual” and “not a declaration of criminal guilt.”
The ruling prompted immediate and pointed responses from public officials, including Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato, who said in a statement Friday that Michel’s death was “completely avoidable” with a “little humanity.”
She likened Michel’s death to that of Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a nearly blind man from Myanmar who was found dead on the street in Buffalo, N.Y., days after being released by ICE agents in February. Authorities there similarly ruled his death a homicide.
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, took a similar tack, saying in a statement Michel’s death was the “result of a violent system that cages people, surveils them, abandons them, dehumanizes them in life, and smears them in death to escape accountability.”
Last month, Lee and a Democratic colleague, Rep. Chris Deluzio of Fox Chapel, made an unannounced visit to Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County, an immigrant detention center, where they spoke with women and described finding “concerning” issues about food and medical care.
‘Callous disregard’
Court records show Michel was arrested in September on misdemeanor charges and held in the Washington County jail.
When those charges were dismissed Feb. 27, ICE picked her up on an immigration detainer, according to Joseph Murphy, a Pittsburgh immigration attorney working with Michel’s family.
ICE agents took her to their offices in the South Side of Pittsburgh, according to Murphy. They placed an ankle monitor on her as part of their Alternatives to Detention program.
According to a criminal complaint, Michel was taken into custody after a neighbor in Charleroi called police Sept. 3 to report they believed she was having a mental health crisis.
The neighbor told police Michel “brandished a knife at her stating, ‘I want to hurt everyone.’ ”
Charleroi police responding to the scene said they had dealt with Michel previously and knew her history, the complaint said.
Sgt. Jackson Bucy arrested Michel and charged her with harassment and terroristic threats.
After months of delays, Charleroi District Judge Eric G. Porter dismissed the charges, finding there was no identifiable victim, according to Murphy.
However, there remained an ICE detainer against Michel, who entered the United States through Brownsville, Texas, in 2022, Murphy said.
At the time she entered, Murphy continued, the federal government found compelling “urgent humanitarian reasons” to allow her to stay in the U.S.
In its statement, the Department of Homeland Security said Michel was released the same day agents picked her up.
“She was released with all of her belongings, including a fully charged phone, in sunny weather in the middle of Pittsburgh, where public transport is readily available,” the statement said.
But Innamorato’s statement said Michel’s death resulted from the “consequences of (ICE)’s cruelty.”
“There were cascading decisions — for the Washington County jail to call ICE instead of her family, for ICE to drop her in an unfamiliar place instead of at home — that showed a callous disregard for a person with severe mental health challenges who needed help,” she said.
Who will investigate?
Lee called for the abolishment of ICE and said the federal immigration authority and “every other agency that failed (Michel)” must answer for her death.
“Daphy Michel was a human being. She happened to be born on the other side of a border, but she was no less worthy of care, safety and dignity. That should not have been a death sentence,” the statement said.
At this point, it’s unclear what agency will head up the investigation of Michel’s death.
Adam Brandolph, a Pittsburgh Regional Transit spokesman, said Port Authority Police do not investigate homicides — though the department is listed as the investigating agency by the medical examiner’s office.
He said the department’s involvement was “limited to the initial response and medical assistance.”
Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Cara Cruz told TribLive the department is not investigating. Madalinsky said Allegheny County Police also are not investigating.
Murphy said he hasn’t seen any evidence that agents intentionally sought Michel’s death, but he said “dumping her in the South Side” was “a recipe for disaster” because of her mental health issues, limited education and language barrier.
Murphy said he doubts a criminal investigation is forthcoming, but he said if one uncovers any evidence of a crime, he’ll push for a criminal prosecution.
Within the next several weeks, however, Murphy expects to file a lawsuit against the federal government on behalf of Michel’s brother, Etienne, with whom she lived in Charleroi.
“Daphy was a case where they should have known better,” he said.
ICE officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.