Homeless Man Charged with Capital Murder and Rape in the Death of a 5-Year-Old Kansas Girl
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 25-year-old homeless man was charged Thursday with murder and rape in the killing of a 5-year-old girl in Topeka, Kansas.
Mickel Cherry faces one count each of capital murder, first-degree murder and rape in the death of Zoey Felix on Monday. He was jailed in Topeka on a $2 million bond and his next court appearance has not yet been determined.
Mark Manna, of the Kansas Death Penalty Defense Unit, said his office would represent Cherry, but that he had no further comment. Cherry's family didn't respond to messages.
A capital murder charge would allow prosecutors to seek the death penally, but Shawnee County prosecutor Michael Kagay didn’t respond to an email from The Associated Press asking about his plans.
Kagay said in a news release that Topeka police rushed to a gas station where fire crews were attempting to save Zoey’s life. She was later pronounced dead. A medical examination at the hospital revealed injuries consistent with sexual assault.
Authorities have released no details about the cause of Zoey's death.
Timothy Phelps, deputy director of the Shawnee County Department of Corrections, confirmed that Cherry used to live at the same address as Zoey, but at the time of his arrest, Cherry was homeless.
Cherry has no criminal record in Kansas but he does have a misdemeanor criminal trespass conviction in Amarillo, Texas.
Neighbors said they had raised concerns that Zoey's family home had no electricity and that they called the police and child welfare.
Topeka police confirmed Thursday that they made three calls to the home in September: one on Sept. 5 for a welfare check following a report that the home had no electricity; and two domestic disturbance calls in the afternoon and evening of Sept. 19, a little more than an hour apart. Police did not provide details about those two calls.
City spokeswoman Gretchen Spiker said in an email that during the first call officers confirmed there was no electricity and that they were told the child wasn't staying there. Police met with the child, saw she was in “good spirits” but still made a report to child welfare and property officials, Spiker said.
The city moved to condemn the house but backed off when the utilities were turned back on. Neighbors said police returned to the house later that month and that everyone but the mother had moved out.
One tent and a tarp were set up in the woods a few blocks away from the home, in an area about a football field away from the pumps at a Dillons grocery store where fire crews tried to resuscitate Zoey. Neighbors suspect Zoey, Cherry and Zoey's father were living there, although police haven’t confirmed that. Her dad worked at the gas station; a coworkers said Wednesday that he was taking time off and the company hasn't responded to an email from the AP.
A makeshift memorial of flowers, balloons and toys sat nearby.
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DCF Under Fire in Case of 5-Year-Old Topeka Girl Who Was Raped and Murdered
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - An investigation is underway in Topeka following the rape and murder of a 5-year-old girl. Neighbors say they reported neglect prior to the child's death but the state failed to respond. Five year old Zoey Felix would often roam her neighborhood unattended. She wasn’t in school and neighbors say she had to take care of herself. The state’s foster care system had multiple calls about Felix but neighbors say the agency never helped. Felix was kicked out of her house along with other relatives, and the Topeka Capital-Journal reported that she lived at a campsite. The secretary of the Department for Children and Families, Laura Howard, said in a hearing with lawmakers Wednesday that state law prevents her from offering details. But she says the agency will work with law enforcement to investigate the death. “So, I actually do not have the legal ability to say anything in a public setting," she said.
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Lansing Prison Inmate Dies
LANSING, Kan. (KPR) — An inmate at the Lansing Correctional Facility (LCF) has died. The Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC) says 40-year-old Michael Aineta died Wednesday after being transported to the KU Medical Center, where hospital staff pronounced him dead. The cause of his death is pending the results of an independent autopsy. Per protocol, when an inmate dies in state custody, the death is investigated by the KDOC and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Aineta was serving time for rape and criminal sodomy convictions in Seward County.
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Commission Recommends Hike in Kansas Lawmaker Pay
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - An independent commission, created by the Kansas Legislature, is recommending an increase in state lawmaker pay to provide them a fairer wage. The proposal calls for increasing their salary to $43,000. Legislative leaders would earn as much as $68,000. Currently, Kansas lawmakers earns about $29,000 a year. The Legislature created the commission to consider increasing their pay in 2025, after the 2024 election cycle. The salary for lawmakers is based on the state’s labor statistics for average annual wages. Former Democratic lawmaker Tom Hawk served on the bi-partisan commission. He says he hopes the proposed plan leads to more Kansans seeking office. The commission will hold a public hearing and consider final approval at a later meeting. If approved, the Legislature would need to approve the pay raises during the next legislative session.
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KDHE: Some Kansas Doctors Over-Prescribing Antibiotics
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - The state health department says doctors in many parts of Kansas are likely prescribing too many antibiotics. Health officials want to lower those rates to help fight antibiotic-resistant infections. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment says the state has made some progress in reducing antibiotic use, but Kansas still has one of the highest antibiotic prescription rates in the country. The department is urging doctors to only prescribe the drugs when absolutely necessary to help reduce so-called “superbugs,” or sometimes-deadly antibiotic resistant infections. Antibiotic misuse has led to a rise in those infections globally and in Kansas. The state has recorded nearly 5,000 cases of antibiotic resistant infection since tracking began five years ago. The data show high antibiotic prescription rates in several parts of Douglas and Shawnee Counties. Health officials say new data showing potentially inappropriate prescription trends in many Kansas zip codes will guide antibiotic stewardship efforts.
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Off Duty Wyandotte County Deputy Shot During Suspected Vehicle Break-in
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (WDAF) – An off-duty Wyandotte County sheriff’s deputy is recovering after she was shot Friday during a suspected vehicle break-in at an apartment complex near the Kansas Speedway. The deputy is now recovering. WDAF-TV reports that police are still looking for that shooter, who tried to break in to at least two vehicles at the Village West apartments at Delaware Parkway and N. 110th Street around 5 o'clock Friday morning. Police say the deputy was exercising when she saw the suspect in the act, and was shot, but she’s expected to recover. Investigators didn’t immediately say if she returned fire. The suspect drove away from the scene and hasn’t been identified. Investigators are examining surveillance video and talking to witnesses.
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USDA Warns of High Wildfire Risk in Plains States as Drought Continues
AMES, Iowa (HPM) - The ongoing drought is fueling concerns that this harvest season will bring a bigger threat of wildfire. Even though it’s not unusual to see field and equipment fires in the fall, there is a greater potential for problems this year because of extremely dry conditions throughout the Midwest and Plains states. Emergency management leaders want residents to know about the heightened hazard due to dry crops and vegetation that could cause flames to spread beyond a farm field. Officials at the USDA Midwest Climate Hub say the states most impacted by drought have the highest risk. This includes Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska. Agriculture and weather experts agree that the situation will likely continue through the rest of October and into November unless substantial rain falls.
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Kansas Looks for New KanCare Providers
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Bidding is now open for contractors vying to run the Kansas Medicaid program. Those chosen will oversee health care for hundreds of thousands of Kansans starting in 2025. Nearly $4 billion is at stake in the KanCare renegotiation process. Officials will select three organizations to manage health care for more than 400,000 Kansans who are low-income, elderly or disabled. Lacey Kennett, with the advocacy group Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, says state listening sessions highlighted shortcomings with the current system. “A lot of the KanCare members voiced a need for increased access to behavioral and mental health care," she said. It’s the first time a Democrat will oversee bidding since former Republican Governor Sam Brownback privatized Medicaid a decade ago. Last year, the GOP-controlled Legislature pushed back the process by one year, but Democratic Governor Laura Kelly won reelection. Bidding closes in January and officials will announce KanCare contractor awards in April. The three organizations that currently run the program are expected to reapply, along with at least one new applicant.
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13 Victims Sue Former Johnson County High School Teacher Who Filmed Girls Changing
JOHNSON COUNTY, Kan. (KC Star) - Another lawsuit has been filed against a former Johnson County teacher and choir director who pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting students at the Catholic school where he worked for more than two decades. Last Friday, 13 victims and their parents filed a joint lawsuit against 47-year-old Joseph Heidesch, who pleaded guilty to secretly filming students changing at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Overland Park, which was also named as a defendant. In June, a Johnson County District Court judge sentenced Heidesch to five years and eight months in prison. The Kansas City Star reports that between 2016 and 2021, Heidesch recorded and saved hundreds of videos that showed at least 25 victims either getting undressed, or in some cases, nude.
The suit accuses Heidesch, who worked at the school for 22 years, of “a continuing and pervasive scheme for the purpose of his own sexual arousal and gratification as a child sexual predator.” Heidesch is currently being held at Winfield Correctional Facility in south-central Kansas.
The victims listed in Friday’s lawsuit span Johnson and Leavenworth counties in Kansas and Jackson County, Missouri. All are female. All were minors at the time of the crime, and all were members of the school choir when it was under Heidesch’s direction. The victims and their parents in the lawsuit said Heidesch, as an educator, was trusted to provide “a safe educational environment.” Instead, Heidesch required all students to change into choir robes in his private office as part of his choir class. Unbeknownst to the students, he also installed a video camera in his office where he recorded students undressing. Among other things, the lawsuit accuses the teacher and school of negligence and invasion of privacy.
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Kansas on Track for $2.6 Billion State Revenue Surplus, $1.6 Billion Stash in Rainy-Day Fund
TOPEKA, Kan. (KAKE) — State budget director Adam Proffitt says Kansas is on track to meet revenue projections necessary to create a $2.6 billion surplus in the current fiscal year and to reinforce the state’s financial position with $1.6 billion in a rainy-day fund. KAKE TV reports that Proffitt spoke Tuesday at Washburn University’s economic outlook conference. The Kansas Legislature meets in January to craft a new state budget and lawmakers are certain to propose major tax cuts. Governor Laura Kelly has tax-cutting ideas of her own. She's urging the Republican-led Legislature to reduce property taxes and grocery sales taxes. GOP leaders in the House and Senate are pushing for a flat income tax to replace the state’s three-bracket system based on income levels. Kelly remains opposed to the flat tax idea. The governor is also pushing to spend more money on special education needs in public schools and to expand Medicaid.
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Mississippi River Running Low Affects Midwest Farmers
UNDATED (HPM) - The Mississippi River is running low, due to a drought sweeping most of the Midwest. It’s the second year in a row the river has been low during the fall harvest season - when many crops are shipped downstream for international export. Mike Welvaert is a hydrologist with the National Weather Service based in Minnesota. “We really need more precipitation and if we don’t get it, we could be looking at prolonged low water all through the winter months that might not turn around until we get to our spring melt period," he said. Welvaert says recent rain in the upper basin is helpful, but it’s mostly replenishing soil moisture, lakes and other smaller bodies of water.
The Mississippi River gives U.S. farmers a huge advantage over other countries because it costs a lot less to ship corn and soybeans on the river compared to trucks or rail. But the river is much less efficient when water levels drop, like right now. Mike Steenhoek, the executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition, says the fall harvest is when the vast majority of soybeans are exported. "It’s game time in agriculture and we need our supply chain to be firing on all cylinders and unfortunately that’s not occurring right now," he said. Steenhoek says some soybeans and other agricultural products will still float down the river, but farmers will have to find other places to store or sell their crop.
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Overland Park Gymnast Leanne Wong Helps Team USA Win Gold at World Championship
ANTWERP, Belgium (KPR) — With the help of Overland Park native Leanne Wong, the U.S. Gymnastics Team has claimed the World Championship. Wednesday's win is the seventh consecutive win for Team USA. Leanne Wong won her first gold medal with Team USA at the 2022 World Championships in Liverpool, England. This time around, the gold came with some drama. When teammate Joscelyn Roberson injured her ankle during warmups it was a chaotic moment for Wong. “We all saw her land and were like,'Is she okay?' but we don't know," Wong said. Wong had to fill in for two events where she wasn't even scheduled. And when Wong fell off the balance beam, her teammates - including the most decorated gymnast in U.S. history, Simone Biles, stepped in to help. "I'm so proud of this team because I was first up on a couple events and didn't have my best, so I really put the pressure on the team but I'm really proud of them for getting through it," she said. Simone Biles earned the highest score of the night for her floor exercise, which helped clinch the gold medal for Team USA over Brazil.
(AP version)
Simone Biles Leads U.S. Women to Record 7th Straight Team Title at Gymnastics World Championships
ANTWERP, Belgium (AP) — Simone Biles and her teammates were far from perfect, and yet nothing could stand in the way of a victory that set a record for both the U.S. women’s team and the greatest gymnast in history. The U.S. women earned a record seventh consecutive team title at the gymnastics world championships on Wednesday night. For Biles, it was also her 33rd major championship medal — across the worlds and Olympics — to make her the most decorated female gymnast ever.
And it’s fitting that it came in Antwerp, the Belgian port city where Biles came to international prominence 10 years ago by winning her first world title in 2013. “It wasn’t Team USA’s best day,” Biles said. “It’s crazy, we still pulled it out. So I’m really, really proud of the team.”
The American team of Biles, Shilese Jones, Skye Blakely, Joscelyn Roberson and Leanne Wong combined for a total of 167.729 points to edge second-place Brazil and France. The U.S. team won by a margin of 2.199 points as the final proved to be a closer contest than anticipated after the Americans put up a dominant performance in qualifying to finish more than five points ahead of the field. “We had some mistakes here and there, but just keep going, keep relying on our training,” Biles said. “But I think this team that we have brought this year has the most great courage and fight. ... We had so many emotions going throughout the day.”
The U.S. women have won gold in the team event at every world championship that included a team competition since 2011. Their victory in Antwerp broke a tie with the Chinese men for the longest streak of consecutive team titles.
Biles now has 26 world championship medals, 20 of them gold, to go with her seven Olympic medals, including the 2016 Olympic title. Her 33 combined medals at the sport’s two biggest events are one more than what Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union achieved.
Russia was banned from the event because of sanctions imposed by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) as a result of the war against Ukraine. In the absence of their Russian rivals — the defending Olympic champions — the Americans were the overwhelming favorites. But the U.S team overcame an early scare as Roberson was forced out of the event even before it started after she seemed to hurt an ankle while warming up at the vault. She was helped off the mat and subbed by Wong. “My ankle just ... popped,” Roberson said.
Jones then kicked off the competition smoothly for the Americans with a Double Twist Yurchenko, with only a small hop. Wong responded to the last-minute call with a clean effort before Biles opted for the slightly safer “Cheng” vault rather than the Yurchenko Double Pike she performed during qualifying on Sunday.
The Americans amassed 42.966 points and were second behind China after the first rotation following the Chinese gymnasts’ excellent display on uneven bars. Biles and her teammates then bested their Chinese opponents’ performance on bars as they took the overall lead with a margin of 1.467 points. They increased it a bit further after the beam — despite a sixth-place finish on that apparatus — as Biles made up for the modest 11.700 Wong received by scoring 14.300 with a solid routine. Biles capped off a successful night for the U.S team with a spectacular floor routine rewarded by a 15.166.
Biles is competing at her first international competition following a two-year absence. Her previous appearance was at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics, where she was hampered by a bout with a mental block known as “ the twisties ” that gymnasts can experience while in the air, and withdrew from several events. Now she’s back in the same city that catapulted her to international fame a decade ago, winning the first of her five world all-around titles as a 16-year-old prodigy. “Each and every time you are crowned world champion, it feels a little bit different,” Biles said. “I’m still surprised that I’m still going, I’m 26, I’m a little bit older. It’s different, but it’s exciting.”
Biles, who posted an overall score of 58.732 points, is also the favorite to add a sixth all-around title on Friday, although she will likely face a strong challenge from Brazilian Rebeca Andrade, the reigning world all-around champion. The event finals are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
Andrade led Brazil to its first medal ever in the women’s team competition. The French team, spurred on by the hundreds of fans cheering for them, secured their first women’s team medal at the world championships since a silver in 1950.
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KDWP Releases Game Bird Hunting Forecast
PRATT, Kan. (WIBW) - The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks has released its Upland Game Bird Forecast for this season. WIBW TV reports that the forecast predicts a shortage of pheasants this year, but quail and prairie chickens are expected to be abundant. The department releases its forecast for bird hunting each fall based on data collected during surveys in the spring. It says the state continues to support above-average populations of quail, but the intense drought conditions have reduced pheasant populations. The wildlife department’s forecast also says Kansas is still home to a healthy population of both greater and lesser prairie chickens. Wildlife officials say drought conditions likely affected those birds too but the prairie chickens are less vulnerable to extreme weather changes than other upland bird species.
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Helping Hands Humane Society Hits Capacity, Offers Free Dog Adoptions
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Helping Hands Humane Society in Topeka is offering free dog adoptions for the entire month of October. WIBW reports that the HHHS shelter is full, and to keep kennel space available for new intakes, dogs will be adopted out for free. This applies to dogs of all ages, from puppies to adults to seniors. Cats will have a $25 adoption fee. For more information, visit the HHHS website.
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KU and K-State in Big 12 Football Contests This Weekend
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KNS) -In college football, the Kansas Jayhawks will host the University of Central Florida Knights Saturday afternoon at 3:00 in at David Booth Memorial Stadium in Lawrence. KU sports.com reports that UCF was competitive in a match opposite Kansas State last month but lost 44-to-31. That means the Orlando, Florida based team is looking to pick up their first conference win in their first season in the Big 12. Kansas is coming off a 40-14 loss at Texas last week without starting quarterback Jalon Daniels, whose back problems flared up again and kept him out of the game. Daniels could be out again this week and that puts back-up QB Jason Bean in line to start for the Jayhawks again. Meanwhile, the Kansas State Wildcats will be on the road in Oklahoma. The 3-and-1 Wildcats will face the 2-and- 2 Oklahoma State Cowboys before a sell-out crowd in Stillwater, Oklahoma Friday evening at 6:30.
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Chiefs Struggling to Get Production from Young Group of Wide Receivers
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes stood in the pocket for what seemed an eternity and, after finally giving up on finding anybody downfield, the Chiefs quarterback tucked the ball and ran for a crucial first down against the New York Jets.
That play last Sunday night wasn't the first time Mahomes has failed to find much help this season.
Through the first four games, the entire Chiefs wide receiver corps has combined to catch 45 passes for 588 yards and just two touchdowns. To put that into perspective, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson — whom they will see on Sunday — has already caught 33 passes for 543 yards and three scores all by himself.
The meager production from Kansas City wide receivers has had a trickle-down effect on the rest of the offense, which outside of a big performance against lowly Chicago has struggled to put up the big points for which it has become known.
“The beauty of our offense,” Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said Thursday, “is that we've got a lot of different guys that are learning how to play wide receiver within this offense, and we're learning who they are. So it's a little bit of both, and it just continually grows, and hopefully to the point that when we get to the end of the season that we're rolling.”
In other words, some of the blame for the poor production can be traced back to youth.
Wide receiver Skyy Moore is only in his second season. Kadarius Toney in his second with the Chiefs. Rashee Rice and Justyn Ross had never stepped on the field for a regular-season NFL game before Week 1 against Detroit.
So they're all learning on the fly.
They're learning how to get away from man coverage, which is far more difficult at the professional level than college. They are learning how to uncover soft spots in zones, which also means building a rapport with Mahomes so that the quarterback knows when and where the wide receiver might be setting down and waiting for the ball.
It also means figuring out how defenses might be trying to confuse everything else they do.
“A lot of NFL defenses, they're very good at trying to disguise what they're actually going to run,” Rice explained, “so it just kind of forces our offense to use a lot of motions and stuff so we can diagnose the defense.”
It remains a work in progress. And in the meantime, the offense has been suffering.
There were 11 wide receivers in the league entering this week with more touchdown receptions than the entire Kansas City crew. Rice tops the team with just 13 catches for a scant 140 yards, while Justin Watson leads that group with 163 yards receiving.
Neither them nor anyone else has been able to produce the splash plays that are a hallmark of the Chiefs, either. Toney has elite speed, but his nine catches for 57 yards come with 0.1 yards-before-catch per reception. That essentially means that, on average, all nine balls he has caught this season have been at the line of scrimmage.
That's hardly the way to blow the top off a defense.
None of the issues happen in a vacuum, of course. The Chiefs have played some of the best defensive backfields in the league, and Jets cornerbacks Sauce Gardner and DJ Reed — whom they faced last week — might be the best tandem. They also tend to throw it quite frequently to Travis Kelce, Isiah Pacheco and the rest of the tight ends and running backs, which further takes the wideouts out of the equation.
“This isn’t the offense where you’re going to see one guy that has 18 targets every week,” Nagy said. "That’s just not us.”
Yet two years ago, Tyreek Hill led the team with 111 catches for 1,239 yards and nine touchdowns, and the Chiefs had three other wide receivers with at least 25 catches apiece. Last year, JuJu Smith Schuster caught 78 passes and Marquez Valdes-Scantling had 42, and both of them produced enough big plays to keep opposing defenses honest.
If Rice remains on his current pace, the second-round draft pick would lead the Chiefs with 55 catches in all.
Mahomes didn't sound concerned this week, pointing out that the Chiefs are still 3-1 and atop the AFC West, thanks in part to a run game that has suddenly become quite devastating.
Turns out his coach didn't sound too concerned, either.
“We have a couple young guys we’re kind of bringing along," Andy Reid said. "but I think they’re doing a pretty good job.”
NOTES: Chiefs LB Nick Bolton (ankle) and CB Jaylen Watson (shoulder) practiced for the second straight day Thursday. That raises the likelihood that both will be available against the Vikings. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said that Bolton would be a game-time decision. “He’s a competitor,” Spagnuolo added. “I don’t think he likes standing on the sideline.”
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This summary of area news is curated by KPR news staffers, including J. Schafer, Laura Lorson, Tom Parkinson and Kaye McIntyre. Our headlines are generally posted by 10 am weekdays and updated throughout the day. These ad-free headlines are made possible by KPR members. Become one today. You can also follow KPR News on Twitter.