A Florida couple who told police they fed their children a vegan diet of only raw fruit and vegetables was charged with murder Wednesday months after their 18-month old son allegedly starved to death in their home.
Ryan Patrick O’Leary, 30, and Sheila O’Leary, 35, of Cape Coral, were indicted by a grand jury on charges of first-degree murder and other charges, State Attorney Amira Fox said.
The mother called police on Sept. 27 when police said she said she noticed her 18-month-old son had gone cold and stopped breathing. The father tried to resuscitate him, police said. Paramedics pronounced the boy dead at the home in Lee County when they arrived, Fort Myers News-Press reported.
He weighed 17 pounds, the average weight of a seven-month-old, according to the police report. Sheila O’Leary allegedly told officers the family eats a vegan diet and she fed her children raw fruits and vegetables – mostly mangoes, bananas, avocados, and rambutans.
“The evidence and crime scene, in this case, are gut-wrenching. These are images, as a mother and state attorney, I will not be able to forget,” State Attorney Amira Fox said Wednesday. “I commend the detectives and officers with the Cape Coral Police Department for their difficult task of dealing with the horrendous nature of this case.” – READ MORE