Child advocates ask why Kansas left slain 5-year-old in dangerous environment: 'Society's collective failure'

A 25-year-old homeless man was charged with raping and killing a 5-year-old Kansas girl in early October, shocking the community and prompting further investigation into the child's living conditions before her death.

Mickel Cherry is charged with capital murder, first-degree murder, and rape in the death of Zoey Felix, of Topeka, Kansas, according to Shawnee County District Court records. He is being held in Shawnee County jail on a $2 million bond.

Kansas prosecutors could seek the death penalty if Cherry is convicted of capital murder, but District Attorney Mike Kagay said a decision has not been made pending a preliminary hearing. Mark Manna, the chief attorney at the Kansas Death Penalty Defense Unit, said his office will represent Cherry. He declined to comment further.

Officials said Cherry was an "acquaintance" and had no other relation to Felix. Timothy Phelps, deputy director of the Shawnee County Department of Corrections, confirmed that Cherry used to live at the same address as Felix, but was homeless at the time of his arrest.

The child's death shocked the community in Topeka, and the brutal attack amassed attention nationwide. While Zoey's death has focused on her parents, child advocates are asking why police and the state’s embattled Department for Children and Families left the bubbly and curious girl in a dangerous environment.

Neighbors: Zoey 'pretty much took care of herself'

Topeka police were called just before 6 p.m. on Oct. 2, to a Dillions grocery store, where city fire department paramedics were treating Felix for life-threatening injuries, Rosie Nichols, a city public safety communications told the Topeka Capital-Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network. A medical examination revealed injuries consistent with sexual assault.

Authorities have released no details about the cause of Zoey’s death, but former neighbors of the girl and her family believe she, her father, and Cherry had lived the past few weeks in a grove of trees on a wooded lot near the gas station, just blocks from the home where her mother lived. They believed she was carried from the wooded lot to the gas station, but police have not confirmed any of those details.

It was a common sight, neighbors say, to see Zoey roaming unsupervised throughout the neighborhood where she lived in southeast Topeka.

The girl "pretty much took care of herself," said Shaniqua Bradley, who lived next door to her until recent weeks.

Residents there worked as a community to keep Zoey fed, clothed, and clean, said Bradley.

'Justice for Zoey':Community demands answers after 5-year-old's death

'Society’s collective failure to support and protect Zoey'

Public anger over Zoey’s death has focused on her parents. But child advocates are asking why police and the state’s embattled Department for Children and Families left the bubbly and curious girl in a dangerous environment.

Court records show Zoey’s mother was convicted in Nevada of disorderly conduct and violated a protection-from-abuse order there before moving to Topeka

The turbulence came to a head in July 2022, when Zoey’s mom called police to report a disturbance. Police returned later that day after Zoey’s teenage sister said her mother had overdosed and that Zoey was home. The report says the mother appeared healthy. Still, Zoey’s mother was arrested and charged with misdemeanor domestic battery against her husband. Released on bond, she was directed to have no contact with him.

Then in November came news that Zoey would miss school because she had been in a crash. A criminal complaint accused Zoey’s mother of driving drunk with an open container — and Zoey — in her car. Prosecutors later subpoenaed hospital records for Zoey.

Zoey’s father obtained a protection-from-abuse order against his wife ordering her to stay away from him through the end of December 2023. The judge gave him custody of Zoey.

Neighbors also said they reported Zoey's living conditions to the Kansas Department for Children and Families. Topeka police confirmed earlier this month that they made three visits to the home in September: one on Sept. 5 for a welfare check following a report that the home had no electricity; and two domestic disturbance calls in the afternoon and evening of Sept. 19, a little more than an hour apart. Police did not provide details about those two calls.

“Our society’s collective failure to support and protect Zoey is heartbreaking and unconscionable,” said Shakti Belway, executive director at the National Center for Youth Law, which sued the state over problems with its child welfare system.

Zoey was a preschool student at Shaner Early Learning Academy last year but was not currently enrolled in any classes, according to district officials. Laura Howard, the top administrator for the Department for Children and Families, described Zoey’s case as “tragic” during an Oct. 4 legislative committee hearing, but didn’t elaborate. The agency has yet to release any information.

"How was that child not removed? It doesn’t make any sense," said Mike Fonkert, deputy director of Kansas Appleseed, whose group also sued the state over its child welfare system.

According to court documents, the girl's mother Holly Felix was on probation for aggravated battery causing great bodily harm that occurred last year. Shawnee County District Court records suggest the victim in that case, identified as a "Z.F." born in 2018, was Zoey Felix.

Holly Felix, the girl's father, and her half-sister, Katelenn Marie Cain, are all listed on the witness list for Cherry's case. It is unclear if Felix's parents will face criminal charges in the girl's death.

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Kansas Department for Children and Families under criticism

The Kansas Department for Children and Families has come under fire, with members of the community questioning what the agency did after welfare reports were filed on behalf of Felix.

"There should be no immunity for people who sat in their offices and made calls and dismissed all the reports that came in for Zoey," said Claudia Richardson, who helped create a Change.org petition. "Immunity from consequences for the rape and death of a 5-year-old child should never exist."

On Oct. 7, members of the community hosted a March 4 Zoey, in which they demanded that state leaders address the issues that led to Felix's death.

"For too long, the State of Kansas, and the cities within it, have done nothing to confront the growing problem of homelessness, a failing foster care system, and a steadily rising crime rate," according to the event page on Facebook.

An 'alarming' rise in child homicides across the U.S.

Ten children — including four this month, with one of those being Zoey — have been killed this year in Topeka, Kansas. Six were 10 years or younger, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported.

Across the country, child homicide rates are rising, with a 27.7% increase in incidents from 2019 to 2020, according to a Justice Department report.  

Between 1999 and 2020, more than 38,000 children 17 and younger died by homicide in the United States, the report said. In 2020, homicide was the second leading cause of death among children, with more than 75% of these incidents involving firearms.

Contributing: Rafael Garcia, Topeka Capital-Journal; The Associated Press