Topekans demand 'Justice for Zoey' after 5-year-old's rape and killing by homeless man

The chants of angry marchers rang out in downtown Topeka on Saturday evening, demanding action from elected officials and government authorities after the killing of 5-year-old Zoey Felix.

"Justice for Zoey."

"Zoey mattered."

"Say her name — Zoey."

"Lock the parents up."

About 200 marchers took to the sidewalks of Kansas Avenue and 10th Avenue, chanting while walking from Evergy Plaza to the south steps of the Kansas Statehouse. Topeka police blocked off traffic.

March 4 Zoey organizer Jenner Cochran thanked Zoey's neighbors, who wore matching yellow shirts to the rally.

"That's when I decided I needed to do something, when I heard them talk," Cochran said.

"A 5-year-old little girl was never given a fair chance, and was failed time after time by a broken system," he said. "Zoey Felix didn't deserve what happened to her, and neither did any of the other children who were victims of this system."

DCF faces mounting criticism, but agency legally can't share what it knows

Police and prosecutors say Zoey was raped and killed Oct. 2 by a homeless man she knew. Neighbors say Zoey was also homeless, having been kicked out of her own home by her mom a couple weeks earlier, around the same time utilities were shut off at the house in southeast Topeka, and around the same time as a police welfare check. She wasn't enrolled in school this year.

Neighbors and police say they made reports to the Kansas Department for Children and Families, and Topeka Public Schools may have, too.

But it remains unknown what, if anything, DCF did with those reports.

Some are assuming DCF did nothing — or at least not nearly enough.

"There should be no immunity for people who sat in their offices and made calls and dismissed all the reports that came in for Zoey," said Claudia Richardson, who helped organize the event and created a Change.org petition. "Immunity from consequences for the rape and death of a 5-year-old child should never exist."

Rep. John Alcala, D-Topeka, expressed frustration with the lack of public information from DCF.

"I don't know what goes on in DCF," Alcala said. "I've inquired about this. I've got the same answers the media has got. They cannot tell me nothing."

While police have already made an arrest and prosecutors have filed charges in Zoey's death, DCF secretary Laura Howard is barred by state law from publicly discussing DCF's involvement in the case until after the agency conducts its own investigation. Howard previously tried to get the law changed to allow certain details in child death cases to be released sooner, but the Legislature didn't pass her bill.

"Laura Howard, while I understand there are laws that prevent you from speaking, where is your compassion?" Richardson asked.

As Richardson continued to criticize DCF, some in the crowd chanted, "Fire her."

"It's not working, you're not working," Richardson said of DCF and Howard.

"Somebody needs to come out of DCF, who drops the ball continuously," Alcala said. "I'd say that with the history that DCF has, I think the governor needs to look at the director of that department."

Alcala told The Capital-Journal that he wasn't calling on the governor to ask for Howard's resignation, but he declined to clarify what he meant.

Protesters want more criminal charges, including for Zoey Felix's parents

Prosecutors have already charged Mickel Cherry with child rape and capital murder — a charge that could carry the death penalty.

But protesters want more accountability, including demanding charges against the parents with chants of "lock the parents up."

"District Attorney Michael Kagay, we as the city of Topeka are waiting for you to do your job," Richardson said. "We demand you bring forth charges to the parents."

Zoey's mom previously faced criminal charges for an aggravated battery and DUI case in which Zoey appeared to be the victim. She got a plea deal. Her prison sentence was suspended and she instead got probation. It remains unclear whether she was ordered to have no contact with her daughter and what steps authorities took to ensure that happened.

"Prosecute caseworkers, judges and anyone else who took part in failing Zoey," Richardson said.

Organizer calls for special legislative session

Cochran called for a special session.

"I'm asking Laura Kelly, (Senate President) Ty Masterson and (House Speaker) Dan Hawkins to get their butts back here to Topeka and do something," he said. "Do your job. Save our children. You should not be scared to go down the trail in your community. You should not be scared to walk down Kansas Avenue."

He wants lawmakers to address the child welfare system, emergency foster care homes, sentencing for child sex offenders and homelessness.

"I've been told that legislating on this subject is not an easy matter, but that doesn't mean they can sit back and do nothing," he said.

While Kansas' Jessica's Law increases punishment for child sex offenders who assault minors under 14 years old, Cochran wants a stiffer penalty for those who attack even younger children.

"What about the 5-year-old, what about the baby?" he said. "These people need to go away for the rest of their lives."

"We've all seen it," Cochran said of homelessness. "What started out as one tent here or there has turned into many tents everywhere. There comes a time when we've got to put politics aside and agree that the best thing for our community is for these people to be rehabilitated and get clean, or they need to be relocated."

Topeka City Councilwoman Christina Valdivia-Alcala said she isn't anti-homeless and supports wraparound services. She said discussion about the unsheltered crisis have been ongoing for three and a half years.

"This is a crisis of immense proportion," she said. "This is a public health and safety crisis."

Rallygoers angered at silence and inaction of elected officials

Richardson said there is "deafening silence" from elected officials.

"We don't want to hear how sad you are," she said. "We want to see how sad you are — we want to see it through action."

Alcala urged them to pressure their representatives: "Don't let your elected officials off the hook." He and Valdivia-Alcala appeared to be the only two elected officials in attendance.

Rallygoers expressed frustration with the lack of attendance by more elected officials. They directed most of their ire at the governor.

"Laura Kelly, your silence is shameful," Richardson said. "Your residence is 8.6 miles — or a 12-minute drive — from where the call to 911 was placed. Not a single word."

Several rallygoers asked where the governor was Saturday.

"She should be here," Richardson said. "She won't say anything publicly."

"Laura Kelly, I'm here speaking out in front of a community who is disgusted by your silence and the murder of Zoey Why is our elected official hiding?" Richardson said. "Gov. Kelly, I would encourage you to ask yourself if this was the same action you would take if this was your child.

"I was up all of last night asking myself, how could we stay silent on the rape and murder of a 5-year-old baby? How do you do it? Do the children of Kansas mean nothing to you?"

What she wanted from the governor was "you show up and you say this is horrible, we're going to get to the bottom of it."

Jason Alatidd is a statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Topeka protesters demand justice for Zoey Felix after child's killing