City police conclude probe of Haitian woman’s death after her release by ICE

Detectives have turned their findings over to the Allegheny County district attorney.

By JAMES ENGEL
TribLive

Pittsburgh police have wrapped up their investigation into the death last winter of Daphy Michel, an immigrant who died from exposure in what was ruled a homicide, and sent their findings to the district attorney.

Michel, a Haitian-born asylum seeker who lived in Charleroi, died March 2 at UPMC Presbyterian hospital after she was found unresponsive at a Pittsburgh bus shelter days after her release by federal immigration agents.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office in June ruled her death a homicide. Michel’s cause of death was listed as hypothermia.

Police said homicide detectives had “explored all of the available evidence” in the case. It’s now under review by the office of Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr., the statement said.

The statement did not describe any of the investigation’s findings.

Cara Cruz, a Pittsburgh police spokeswoman, confirmed last month that detectives were investigating Michel’s death, which she said is protocol for any death ruled a homicide within the city.

“A determination of homicide is a medical finding indicating that death resulted from the actions of another person and does not, by itself, establish that a crime was committed,” Cruz said in a statement.

It’s unclear whether the investigation will result in any charges.

Zappala’s office did not immediately respond Wednesday to TribLive questions.

Joseph Murphy, a Pittsburgh immigration attorney working with Michel’s family, said he’s unsure whether any charges are forthcoming.

During the police investigation, Murphy said callers — whom he declined to identify — had contacted him with new details about the circumstances of Michel’s death.

Murphy said those calls led him to believe at least one person should be charged in Michel’s death. He did not elaborate other than to say the person is not affiliated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Murphy said people are angry about Michel’s death.

“They left that lady, who was in a really pitiful state, at that bus station in February,” he said.

Three police detectives interviewed Murphy and Michel’s brother, Etienne Michel, earlier this summer for about two hours, Murphy previously told TribLive.

Police collected Michel’s phone and seemed to be gathering information about her psychiatric state, according to Murphy.

Court records show Michel was arrested in September 2025 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 Murphy.

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 who responded to the scene said they had dealt with Michel previously and knew her history, the complaint said.

After months of delays, Charleroi District Judge Eric G. Porter dismissed harassment and terroristic threats charges, finding there was no identifiable victim, according to Murphy.

However, there remained an ICE detainer against Michel, who entered the country 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.

Haiti has been under a state of emergency since March 2024, according to the U.S. State Department, which warns Americans to avoid the country because of threats of crime, gang violence, kidnapping and terrorism.

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 Murphy previously told TribLive leaving Michel at the bus shelter was a “recipe for disaster.”

Michel’s phone plan had lapsed while she was in jail, she did not speak English and had been diagnosed with psychosis, he said.