A medical examiner in Pennsylvania ruled Friday that the death of a Haitian woman released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody was a homicide.

The Allegheny County medical examiner’s office ruled the death of 31-year-old Daphy Michel on March 2 as caused by hypothermia, with homicide as the manner of death. Michel died at 12:14 p.m. EDT at a local hospital that day.

“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,” said Jim Madalinsky, the public information officer for the medical examiner’s office and the Allegheny County Police Department.

Madalinsky noted that the homicide ruling “is a standard manner of death determination indicating the death was caused by the actions of another individual” and is “not to be interpreted as a declaration of criminal guilt.”

Lauren Bis, the acting assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, told The Hill that ICE “had NOTHING to do” with Michel’s death. Bis said ICE officers encountered Michel, an immigrant lacking permanent legal status, and placed her in removal proceedings.

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