Vegan Florida woman accused of starving her baby to death sentenced to life in jail, Lee County officials confirmed
A vegan woman who was responsible for the murder of her infant by starvation was sentenced to life in jail.
Yesterday, vegan Sheila O’Leary was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of her son Ezra through starvation.
The woman, who is 38 years old and adhered to a strict vegan diet, was found guilty of six counts of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter, child abuse, and two counts of child neglect. She was also convicted of two counts of child negligence.
According to reports from the Associated Press, the sentencing hearing in Lee County, Florida has already been postponed four times, while Sheila’s husband, Ryan Patrick O’Leary, is still being held in jail for trial on the same allegations.
According to the investigators, the couple confirmed to investigators that their family exclusively consumed raw fruits and vegetables. Sheila also breastfed her son, who was 18 months old at the time of his death in September 2019, according to the police report. At the time of his death, he weighed 8 pounds and was the size of a baby who was seven months old.
The couple from Cape Coral also had two additional children, ages 3 and 5, both of whom suffered from malnutrition. Also as a result of the infant’s malnutrition, the fourth child had already been given back to the biological father.
