Name of Victim: Raffaele (Ralph) Michilli
Age of Victim: 54
Sex of Victim: Male
What Is This Testimony About: Hospital Protocol Death
State: CT
Name of Hospital(s) victim was admitted to (List All that apply): Danbury Hospital
Did the victim survive? No
Date of Death: 04/21/2020
Contact Name: A Michilli
Relationship to Victim: Spouse
Was the victim a military Veteran? No
Was the victim considered special needs, or did they have any kind of disability? No
Was the victim admitted to the hospital? Yes
County Hospital is located in: Fairfield
Date Admitted: 04/09/2020
Was the victim isolated at any time during hospitalization? Yes
Was the victim deprived of food and water while in the hospital? No
Was victim placed on a ventilator? Yes
What medications were administered to the victim by doctors or hospital staff?
Antibiotics, Antifungals, Blood Pressure Medications, Fentanyl, Propofol, Remdesivir, Sedatives
What medications did the hospital explicitly refuse to administer to the victim?
Blood Thinners, Blood Pressure Medications
Has this incident been reported to any agency such as VAERS, HHS, JACHO, Medical Board or others? No
Place of Death: Hospital
Would you be interested in participating in podcasts or other media? Yes
Isolated, Intubated, and Gone in 12 Days: Ralph Michilli’s Death in the Epicenter
When COVID first reached America, fear moved faster than facts. New York was being described as the nation’s epicenter. The National Guard appeared in communities, businesses closed, medications disappeared from store shelves, and families were warned that an unknown and deadly virus was spreading rapidly. Americans did not yet know what questions to ask about the virus, its origins, gain-of-function research, or government funding. They trusted that hospitals were the safest place for someone who needed help.
Angela Michilli trusted that, too. She could not have known that calling 911 would be the last time she would see her husband alive.
Raffaele “Ralph” Michilli was only 54 years old. He and Angela were childhood sweethearts who met when she was 16 and he was 17. They grew up together, raised a family, traveled, and built a marriage that lasted 30 years. Relatives described them as the couple others hoped to emulate.
Ralph was genuine, soft-spoken, respectful, and generous. He had a memorable smile and laugh, treated people equally, and was always willing to listen or help. His family was the center of his life.
In March 2020, Ralph worked at a Lexus dealership in Larchmont, New York, near New Rochelle—the area then being called a COVID epicenter. Angela recalls that Ralph pushed for the dealership to close as other businesses shut down, but his request was denied.
On March 30, Ralph began feeling ill. By the following day, he had a fever, and on April 1 he tested positive for COVID. Soon their daughter became sick, followed by Angela.
The family was frightened and largely left to manage the illness alone. Doctors were not seeing patients, effective early-treatment options were not readily offered, and even common fever medications were difficult to find. Ralph was eventually prescribed hydroxychloroquine, but Angela says it came only after he had already been sick for several days.
On April 9, Angela found Ralph confused and speaking incoherently. Fearing that his fever and dehydration had become dangerous, she called 911. As the ambulance carried him away, she reassured their sick daughter that her father would be all right.
At Danbury Hospital, an emergency-room physician initially told Angela that Ralph’s vital signs looked good and that he should be fine. Within hours, the same physician called back and announced that Ralph would be intubated. Angela objected repeatedly because of a previous family experience with ventilation.
Her objection changed nothing. The physician told her they had to proceed and ended the call.
Ralph was intubated on the day he arrived. Angela was barred from entering the hospital, advocating beside his bed, or independently observing his condition. She says two days passed before she received a meaningful update, despite persistent calls and messages. Even Ralph’s personal physician was reportedly unable to obtain information from the hospital.
Angela requested FaceTime contact because she believed Ralph needed to hear his family’s voices. When she and her daughter finally saw him, he had good coloring and could respond by nodding. A nurse said he was doing well. When the nurse offered to shave his growing beard, Ralph shook his head no. He had promised that he would not shave until he recovered from COVID. Angela understood his message immediately: he still expected to come home.
The hospital later told Angela that Ralph would receive remdesivir, describing it as a promising medication being used overseas. She says she was not given a meaningful explanation of its experimental status or potential risks. After it was administered, Ralph’s condition deteriorated.
His kidneys began failing, requiring dialysis. His blood pressure became unstable, and Angela was told he developed sepsis and a serious bowel complication. Yet communication remained sporadic, and she was forced to rely on changing accounts from different staff members. As Ralph worsened, one physician repeatedly told Angela that he would not survive.
Angela fought back. She demanded that the hospital continue treating Ralph, attempt resuscitation if he coded, and never simply give up on him. When Ralph survived a night the physician had predicted would be his last, Angela reminded the doctor that his responsibility was to do everything possible to save her husband.
Still, Angela felt that the medical team had already closed the book on Ralph.
She also requested a Catholic priest to administer Last Rites. That request was not honored. A woman affiliated with the hospital later said she had prayed over him, but Ralph never received the sacrament Angela had specifically requested.
On April 21, hospital staff called Angela and told her to come immediately. She and her daughter raced to Danbury Hospital. After weeks of alarming news reports depicting overwhelmed hospitals, Angela was stunned by what she encountered: an eerily quiet building, empty rooms, echoing corridors, few visible patients, and minimal staff.
The hospital had kept Angela away while Ralph was alive. By the time she was permitted to reach him, he was already gone.
Ralph Michilli died just 12 days after entering the hospital.
His death shattered the future Angela believed they would share. Ralph had been the family’s primary provider. Angela eventually had to sell their home to survive financially. Their children lost their father, her daughter lost the man who should have walked her down the aisle, and Angela lost the person who had stood beside her since adolescence. Because of pandemic restrictions, she could not give Ralph a Catholic funeral Mass at the time of his death. His memorial was delayed until September.
Angela still carries the grief, anger, anxiety, and unanswered questions created during those 12 days. She believes Ralph was subjected to isolation, rushed ventilation, experimental treatment without meaningful informed consent, fragmented communication, denial of family advocacy, and disregard for his religious rights—all while his family was kept powerless outside the hospital.
What happened to Ralph was not simply a tragic chapter from a confusing moment in history. His story contains patterns later reported by families across America. These accounts demand recognition, investigation, reform, and accountability. The egregious violations of human dignity committed under the guise of public health must never be allowed to happen again.
Betrayal Project USA is a victim-led human rights advocacy organization whose board members and volunteers are primarily widows, widowers, survivors, and family members who experienced similar institutional betrayal. We are giving victims a platform to tell their stories, building a community of support, and pursuing the recognition, reform, and accountability these families deserve.
If you or a loved one has been harmed by COVID-related protocols, shots, or policies, please document your story at betrayalprojectusa.org. Justice begins with recognition—and every story matters.
