A 5-year-old Kansas girl was raped and killed at a homeless camp in the woods after neighbors said her mother kicked her and other family members out of their home, according to reports.
Zoey Felix was found at a gas station with life-threatening injuries on Monday, according to the Topeka Police Department. He was taken to hospital, where he died.
Mickel W. Cherry, 25, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with murder and rape of a victim under the age of 14, local newspaper WBIW reported.
He is being held on a $2 million bond.
Neighbors said the suspect used to live in the same house as Zoey with her father and sister.
Neighbors claim the children’s mother kicked them all to the curb about two weeks ago, forcing them to live at a campsite about a mile away, according to the Topeka Capital-Journal.
Zoey Felix was found with life-threatening injuries at a Topeka gas station on Monday.gofundme
Zoey had a turbulent home life, according to neighbors, who often saw the young girl running around unsupervised.
Her community worked together to help keep her bathed, dressed and fed, neighbors said.
They said he didn’t go to school.
Neighbors said the suspect used to live in the same house as Zoey with her father and sister. FOX43
“Zoey doesn’t deserve to be in anybody’s woods,” neighbor Sharon Williams told KSNT.
“This is his house here. He has one, two, three, four, five people who will do anything for him.
Neighbor Shaniqua Bradley said Zoey often came to her house to eat while exploring the neighborhood.
Zoey had a turbulent home life, according to neighbors, who often saw the young girl running around unsupervised.FOX43
“It’s always ‘Can I stay? Can I stay?’” Bradley said of the little girl.
“Usually when a child is determined to stay that way, something happens at home.”
Bradley and other neighbors said they made numerous reports to the Kansas Department of Children and Families in the weeks before her death, citing the deplorable living conditions in Zoey’s home — which lacked running water and was filled with feces.
Her community worked together to help keep her bathed, dressed and fed, neighbors said. They said he didn’t go to school.FOX43
But nothing was ever done, they said.
“I just reported the neglect that happened,” Williams said.
“He was always dirty, no food unless some of us fed him, but they obviously didn’t take it seriously.”
Mickel W. Cherry, 25, was arrested Tuesday and charged with murder and rape of a victim less than 14Shawnee Co. Department of Corrections
Two or three weeks ago, Zoey’s neighbors noticed she was missing, according to the Capital-Journal.
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They were very upset to learn that he had been killed.
“Everybody on the block takes care of Zoey,” said Sheryl Tyree, who doesn’t live in the neighborhood but spends a lot of time there.
“Everyone loves Zoey, except her parents.”
Kansas state lawmakers are demanding answers from the Department of Children and Families.
“We need to do more,” said Senator Oletha Faust-Goudeau.
“This, this is unacceptable.”
“We really need a deep dive into why the system is failing,” said Senator Molly Baumgardner.
According to court documents reviewed by the Capital-Journal, Zoey’s mother pleaded guilty in March to aggravated assault causing bodily injury with a deadly weapon on a child born in 2018.
The child is identified by the initials “ZF”
If a child dies as a result of abuse or neglect, DCF has seven business days to release a summary of any prior reports of abuse reviewed by the agency under the Kansas Open Records Act, according to the newspaper.
Topeka Police Chief Bryan Wheeles would not confirm whether authorities had any prior contact with the family or their relationship with the suspect.
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