A man has pleaded guilty to the death of a 5-year-old girl living in their Kansas homeless camp

Associated Press

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A man who lived in a makeshift camp with a homeless 5-year-old Kansas girl and her father has pleaded guilty to rape and first-degree murder in connection with the child’s death. Prosecutors said Friday that Mickel Cherry, 26, admitted suffocating Zoey Felix in October 2023 with a pillow in a tent at the camp in Topeka. Cherry’s plea in Shawnee County District Court in Topeka means he will not face the death penalty. Cherry had been charged with capital murder, but District Attorney Mike Kagay said Cherry may have an intellectual disability, and that would bar his execution. His sentence will be life in with prison no possibility of parole for at least 25 years.