Who is Sheila O'Leary? Mom faces life in prison for starving 18-month-old son to death with vegan diet
CAPE CORAL, FLORIDA: Sheila O'Leary, a 38-year-old Florida mother was found guilty by the jurors on several charges primarily including the first-degree murder of her son and child abuse. According to the claims of the 18-month-old toddler's parents, he was not eating anything for about a week and was having problems in sleeping before he died. The final phase of the trial took place on Tuesday, June 28 and justice was rightfully served by the jury.
The incident took place in September 2019 and Sheila and her husband, Ryan Patrick O'Leary reportedly confessed to the cops that they kept their son, Ezra, on a strict vegan diet, as reported by The Daily Mail. Police said the mom called 911 on Sept 27, 2019, to report that the boy was cold and not breathing, while her husband attempted to resuscitate him at their Cape Coral home. The Special Victim Unit's Chief at the Florida State Attorney's Office, Francine Donnorummo was extremely furious and blamed the toddler's mother for not providing proper care and for having irrational pride. "Her pride caused Ezra his life. It is a reckless disregard for human life," he said.
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Lee Hollander, who was the defense attorney of the accused tried to prove her innocence and was disappointed at the outcome. In a public statement, he asked "Does that look like a mom who wants to kill her child?" Although Sheila stated that she breastfed her child regularly, the main cause of Ezra's death was due to malnutrition. Ezra weighed only 17 pounds during the time of death which is almost 7 pounds below the normal weight. Ryan, the 33-year-old father of the deceased child was also charged with the same crime and is awaiting his trial according to The Sun.
Amira Fox, the State Attorney said that it made her feel sad as a mother of what happened with Ezra and it will be very difficult for her to forget what happened. "The evidence and crime scene, in this case, are gut-wrenching," she said. Besides, the State Attorney also blamed the couple for mistreating and neglecting their other three children whose ages were three, five, and eleven at the time of Ezra's death in 2019. The mom told officers that the family was vegan and her four kids were on a raw food diet that consisted of mangoes, rambutans, bananas and avocados. “She chose to disregard his cries,” Assistant State Attorney Sara Miller said during closing arguments. “She didn’t need a scale to see his bones. She didn’t need a scale to hear his cry.”
Since their arrest, the couple stayed in the Lee County Jail and Sheila is currently scheduled to be sentenced in July. The other notable charges on which the couple was found guilty include aggravated manslaughter, aggravated child abuse, and two counts of neglect.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has advised parents to take care of their children properly and should make sure that their toddlers get a proper healthy diet with an adequate amount of protein sources. A complete vegan diet is also suitable for a child but in that case, the parents should always consult and seek advice from a doctor before jumping to their own conclusions and beliefs.