A 5-year-old Kansas girl was raped and murdered at a homeless camp in the woods after neighbors say her mother had kicked her and other family members out of their house, according to reports.
Zoey Felix was found at a gas station with life-threatening injuries on Monday, according to the Topeka Police Department. She was taken to a hospital, where she died.
Mickel W. Cherry, 25, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with murder and rape of a victim less than 14, local news outlet WBIW reported. He was being held on a $2 million bond.
Neighbors said the suspect had at one point lived in the same house as Zoey along with her father and sister.
The neighbors claim the child’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 had a turbulent life at home, according to neighbors, who often saw the young girl running around unsupervised.
Her community worked together to help keep her bathed, clothed, and fed, neighbors said. They said she didn’t attend school.
“Zoey did not deserve to be in anybody’s woods,” neighbor Sharon Williams told KSNT. “This is her home right here. She has one, two, three, four, five people that would do anything for her.”
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