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Zoey Felix was raped and killed earlier this month in Topeka, Kansas TOPEKA, Kan. -- Zoey Felix's short life was filled with turbulence. Before the 5-year-old Topeka girl was raped and killed, worried neighbors say they saw her wandering, dirty and hungry. Police were called to her home dozens of times. Teachers raised alarms when she missed preschool. Records show both parents alleged abuse. Zoey's mom was jailed for a drunken car crash with Zoey in the front seat. State welfare officials were notified. In September, Zoey and her father moved out, and neighbors believe they began camping in a nearby vacant lot. Weeks later, Zoey was killed and Mickel Cherry, a 2 5-year- old homeless man, was charged in her death. Public anger over Zoey's Oct. 2 death has focused on her parents. But child advocates are asking why police and Kansas' embattled Department for Children and Families left her in a dangerous environment. “Our society’s collective failure to support and prot...

Zoey Felix was raped and killed earlier this month in Topeka, Kansas TOPEKA, Kan. -- Zoey Felix's short life was filled with turbulence. Before the 5-year- old Topeka girl was raped and killed, worried neighbors say they saw her wandering, dirty and hungry. Police were called to her home dozens of times. Teachers raised alarms when she missed preschool. Both parents alleged abuse. Zoey's mom was jailed for a drunken car crash with Zoey in the front seat. State welfare officials were notified. In September, Zoey and her father moved out, and neighbors believe they began camping in a nearby vacant lot. Weeks later, Zoey was killed — efforts to save her in a gas station parking lot were unsuccessful — and Mickel Cherry, a 25-year-old homeless man, was charged in her death. Public anger over Zoey's Oct. 2 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 ...