PITTSBURGH — The death of a woman who was found unresponsive at a Pittsburgh bus shelter, days after being released by ICE, was ruled a homicide by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office on Friday.
Daphy Michel, 31, was declared deceased at a hospital on March 2, following an unspecified incident along East Carson Street.
Supporters claim Michel, a Charleroi resident, spent months in jail after being arrested during a possible mental health incident. When her charges were dropped, she was allegedly placed in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and released in Pittsburgh with an ankle monitor.
Michel was found unresponsive at that South Shore bus shelter three days later, supporters said.
The Department of Homeland Security has denied any responsibility.
In a March 14 post on X, DHS claimed ICE had “NOTHING to do with this woman’s death,” and posted the following full statement:
“ICE had NOTHING to do with this woman’s death. She passed away THREE days after ICE encountered her.
“Following her arrest by local authorities for Terroristic Threats and Harassment, Daphy Michel, an illegal alien from Haiti, was encountered by ICE and placed in removal proceedings. ICE issued her an ICE ankle monitor and she was released from ICE custody on February 27. 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.
“On March 3, ICE received a notification that her ankle monitor had been tampered with. ICE officers traveled to her last known location on the GPS system: the county medical office. Upon arrival, local staff refused to cooperate or even talk with ICE federal law enforcement. Our officers instead had to call the U.S. Marshal’s service, who were let into the building and were given the severed ankle monitor. However, staff refused to even tell the U.S. Marshals about the individual’s condition.
“ICE was never given official notification of her passing, and found out about her death via the media thanks to the local county’s refusal to even have a conversation with federal law enforcement.”
Channel 11 has just received statements from the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office and County Executive Sara Innamorato about Michel’s Death. Tune in to Channel 11 News at 4:30 p.m. for their responses.
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