Florida – A Cape Coral mother this week was found guilty of starving her 18-month old son to death after she fed him only raw fruits and vegetables.
Sheila O’Leary was indicted in 2019 after her toddler son Ezra died of malnutrition and dehydration. He weighed only 17 pounds when he died.
O’Leary also starved her other three children, according to state prosecutors.
“According to the State Attorney’s Office, O’Leary’s other three children, a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old boy, and an 11-year-old girl were also suffering from severe malnutrition and dehydration.” NBC 2 reported.
Sheila O’Leary’s husband Ryan was also charged with murder is being tried separately.
The couple told police they are raw vegans and only eat fruits and vegetables.
“The three children were fed a diet that consisted mostly of mangoes, bananas, avocados and rambutans.” the Daily Mail reported.
Sheila O’Leary is facing life in prison and will be sentenced on July 25.
The Daily Mail reported:
A vegan mother has been found guilty of murder for the death of her 18-month-old son who weighed just 17lbs when he died in 2019 after a short life being fed only fruit, vegetables and breastmilk.
Doctors found he hadn’t been fed for a week by the time he died in September 2019.
Sheila and her husband, who has also been charged with murder and is waiting trial, called 911 after Ezra stopped breathing.
Paramedics pronounced the toddler dead at the scene. They also examined the couple’s older three children.
The couple also had a three-year-old and a five-year-old who were severely malnourished.
Their skin was yellow and one suffered such poor dental hygiene that their teeth were black.
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