Mickel Cherry pleads guilty in Zoey Felix homicide case

TOPEKA (KSNT) – A man involved in one of Topeka's most high-profile recent homicide investigations has changed his plea on Friday.

Mickel Cherry appeared at a Shawnee County courtroom on the morning of Dec. 13 after documents were filed earlier in the month indicating he was considering changing his plea. He changed his plea to guilty on Friday to first degree murder and rape with a third count of capital murder being dismissed.

Cherry was charged by the Shawnee County District Attorney's office in October 2023 for his alleged part in the death of local five-year-old Zoey Felix. His charges included:

• Capital murder; in commission of rape, sodomy, or aggravated sodomy.
• Murder in the first degree; in the commission of a felony.
• Rape; offender is 18 or older and victim is less than 14 years of age.

The Topeka Police Department arrested Cherry after an incident on Oct. 2 where first responders were called to a local gas station on reports of an unresponsive child. Law enforcement arriving in the area attempted to save the child, later identified as Felix, who was taken to a hospital where she later died.

Felix was declared the 26th homicide of the year in Topeka for 2023, a year which had an all-time high for homicide investigations in the Capital City. Cherry's charge of capital murder carried with it the possibility he could have faced the death penalty.

For more crime news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. 

Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf