A teen mother's murder

A TALE of incest, deception and greed emerged yesterday as police divers continued to search for the body of a teenage mom in an icy creek near her Pennsauken home.

Acting Camden County Prosecutor Joshua M. Ottenberg described the murder of 17-year-old Felicia Mikels as a "tragic breakdown of humanity" that apparently sprang from a dispute over money.

"I don't know who owed who what," said Ottenberg, who was still piecing the puzzle together.

During an afternoon news conference in Camden, Ottenberg laid out a murder plot as twisted, murky and cold as the creek washing over Felicia's missing body.

Among the more distressing details revealed by Ottenberg was the fact that Felicia's 26-year-old uncle, Christopher Mikels, told investigators that he may be the father of her 5-week-old baby.

Ottenberg said investigators were awaiting test results from DNA taken from Mikels, who was charged as an accomplice to murder.

"Given her age and his age, if he is in fact the father, it's quite possibly what might be characterized as statutory rape," Ottenberg said.

Mikels apparently watched as his friend Douglas Mandichak beat Felicia to death with a piece of wood in the parking lot of an industrial complex in Pennsauken sometime between late Friday night and early Saturday morning, Ottenberg said.

Mandichak, 25, a former volunteer with the Maple Shade Heavy Rescue Unit who was previously convicted of arson, was charged with murder.

Together, Mikels and Mandichak dumped Felicia's battered body into the Pennsauken Creek in Cinnaminson. Then they turned their attention to the infant girl, who sat in a car seat adorned with Winnie the Pooh decorations, authorities said.

"There was a discussion between the two of them as to whether or not the baby should go in the river with the mother," Ottenberg said.

Mandichak apparently advocated the idea more than Mikels, who is the victim's paternal uncle, Ottenberg said.

Ultimately, they decided not to kill the baby, opting instead to deposit her on the lawn of a randomly selected Cherry Hill home as the temperature dropped into the 20s. A passing motorist on his way to work spotted the baby along Marlowe Road, off Downing Street, about 7 a.m. Saturday and called police. She was bundled under blankets in her car seat.

The baby was evaluated at an area hospital, where doctors deemed her healthy, then handed her over to the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services.

Last night, two DYFS workers visited the Pennsauken home of Felicia's grandmother, Margaret Mikels, where Felicia lived on Rudderow Avenue near Cove Road with her father, James Mikels, and possibly her uncle, Christopher Mikels, neighbors said.

Contrary to reports, Margaret Mikels told a Daily News reporter last night that she did not have custody of the baby.

"It's still upsetting," the woman said, before retreating into the white, blue-roofed home.

News of Felicia's death quickly spread among residents of Pennsauken, a largely blue-collar town next to Camden. And with that news came speculation and rumor that Felicia, a high-school dropout who worked at the Subway sandwich shop across from the Cherry Hill Mall, had wanted money for her baby.

Ottenberg said he did not know whether Mandichak had had a sexual relationship with Felicia. He described Mandichak - who also provided DNA samples to investigators - as a "longtime acquaintance" of Felicia's.

"We do not know who the baby's father is," Ottenberg said. "We have taken DNA swabs from a number of people."

Jennifer Gould, 27, a Camden woman who had had a baby with Felicia's father five years ago, said Felicia had told her "she was raped" during a party after she had "had a little too much to drink."

Gould's mother, Sharon Baldwin, 55, said she last had seen Felicia in early December, just before the baby was born.

"She was looking forward to being a mom," Baldwin said. "When the baby came, she was really happy."

Felicia named her baby Miciana Ramos, because her boyfriend, Ray Ramos, was going to help raise the infant, Baldwin said.

Baldwin and Gould said Felicia had been working at Subway to save up money so she could get her own place. Both said they couldn't imagine Felicia's uncle playing a role in her murder.

Baldwin described Christopher Mikels as a "good kid" who owned his own cleaning and lawn-service business.

Mikels seemed to have his own money woes. In 2006, he owed money to a credit company for "general equipment," records show.

Neighbors on Rudderow Avenue said they frequently heard arguing and cursing coming from the house.

Yesterday, Mikels and Mandichak were being held on $750,000 cash or bond bail. They are expected to be arraigned today.

Ottenberg said Mikels and Mandichak had been plotting for days to harm Felicia.

On Friday night, one of them apparently sent her a text message on her cell phone, luring her out of her home. She put the baby in a stroller and walked to a bowling alley near her home. There, she got into a pickup truck with Mikels and Mandichak. They drove to a nearby industrial park, where Mandichak bashed her with a piece of wood, Ottenberg said.

Margaret Mikels reported her granddaughter and the baby missing about 1 a.m. Saturday.

Ottenberg said Christopher Mikels had confessed to his role in the murder and had fingered Mandichak after investigators caught him in a lie. Mikels admitted that he had used Felicia's cell phone after the murder to send a text message to himself and other relatives saying she was running away. Investigators found Felicia's discarded cell phone in Cherry Hill, Ottenberg said.

Yesterday morning, Mandichak stood by the Pennsauken Creek off North Fork Landing Road, near Route 73, and showed investigators where he had dumped the body, authorities said.

"The visibility is next to nothing," Ottenberg said. "Creeks like that have a lot of snags underwater, so we are going slowly and carefully." *