Prosecutors charge Topeka man with rape, murder in killing of 5-year-old girl
A 25-year-old Topeka man is charged with rape and murder in the killing of 5-year-old Zoey Felix, Shawnee County prosecutors said Thursday.
Mickel W. Cherry, arrested and booked in the county jail Tuesday, is accused of three felonies that each carry a maximum penalty of life in prison. He is being held on a $2 million bond.
The 5-year-old girl was found in a field near a Topeka gas station Monday evening after police and firefighters responded to an emergency medical call. She was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.
Neighbors have said they repeatedly called police and social services at the southeast Topeka home where Zoey Felix had lived, concerned about neglect, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported. They said they later learned the girl had been living in a homeless encampment.
Authorities have said Cherry is homeless and was known to the 5-year-old. A criminal history check entered in the court record listed a single prior criminal offense of misdemeanor trespassing in the Amarillo, Texas area.
Mark Manna, chief attorney for the state’s Death Penalty Defense Unit, said Thursday a team of attorneys would be representing Cherry in his capital murder case. He declined to comment further.
Earlier this week, a relative of the child set up an online fundraiser through GoFundMe seeking donations for funeral expenses, which was suspended after an area funeral home agreed to cover expenses, according to the webpage. The author of the page, who identified himself as Zoey’s uncle, said the tragedy had left the family in grief.
The Star’s Robert A. Cronkleton contributed to this report.
