Vegan parents whose toddler son starved to death after he was fed only fruits and vegetables charged with murder
CAPE CORAL, FLORIDA: A vegan Florida couple whose toddler son starved to death after they fed him just raw fruits and vegetables, and whose other children were found to be malnourished too, have been charged with murder, child abuse, and neglect.
MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) previously reported that Sheila O'Leary, 35, and Ryan O'Leary, 30, were arrested after deputies from the Cape Coral Police Department responded to their home on September 27 to reports of an 18-month-old boy who had stopped breathing.
Emergency personnel declared the toddler dead at the scene. The boy was found to weigh just 17lbs, which is the average weight of a seven-month-old. An autopsy determined that he had died after suffering complications related to malnutrition, including dehydration, microsteatosis of liver and swelling of hands, feet, and legs. Detectives with the Major Crimes Unit investigating the case also found that two of the toddler's older siblings, aged three and five, were also extremely malnourished and small for their age.
A probable cause affidavit filed in connection to the case stated that both children were pale and had yellowish skin, and that one of them had blackened teeth caused by dental decay.
A third child, 11, from a different relationship, appeared healthier, but it was determined that was because she visited her biological father in Virginia every two months. When questioned, Sheila O'Leary told police the 18-month-old had not eaten anything other than breast milk in the week leading up to his death, and that she chalked it down to him not having an appetite as he was teething.
She said, on the morning he died, he had experienced breathing problems after nursing for a minute, and that instead of seeking medical attention, she and Ryan O'Leary fell asleep. She also admitted he had never seen a doctor as he had been born at home, and that all her children were fed vegan diets consisting of mangoes, bananas, avocados, and rambutans.
This past week, a Lee County Grand Jury indicted the couple on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter, child abuse, and two counts of child neglect. State Attorney Amira Fox said in a statement that the indictment also includes their three other children.
"The evidence and crime scene are gut-wrenching," she said. "These are images as a mother and State Attorney, I will not be able to forget."
The couple's two surviving biological children have been placed in the custody of child services while the 11-year-old girl is under the care of her biological father in Virginia. The couple will be arraigned on their charges on December 23.