Vegan Cape Coral mom goes on trial Wednesday in neglect death of her 18-month-old son in 2019
5 min readDemo commences Wednesday for a vegan Cape Coral mom facing homicide, neglect and other prices in the September 2019 dying of her 18-thirty day period-old son.
A Lee County Grand Jury indicted Sheila O’Leary, 38, and her partner, Ryan Patrick O’Leary, 33, on six expenses similar to the starvation and lack-of-care death of the toddler: 1st-diploma murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter, boy or girl abuse and two counts of youngster neglect.
Autopsy conclusions determined that the young boy’s demise was induced by difficulties of malnutrition, which includes dehydration, microsteatosis of liver and slight edema (swelling) of arms, toes and reduce legs, according to a Cape Coral law enforcement possible cause assertion.
The O’Learys were being a vegan relatives and instructed law enforcement they ate only raw fruits and veggies but supplemented the toddler’s food plan with breast milk.
The toddler weighed 17 lbs ., police reports indicated, while the average bodyweight for an 18-thirty day period-outdated boy is 24 lbs ., 1 ounce. The O’Leary toddler weighed as considerably as an average 7-month-previous, in accordance to www.babycenter.com.
The 1st working day of the scheduled 5-working day trial for Sheila O’Leary begins at 8:30 a.m. in Lee Circuit Decide Bruce E. Kyle’s courtroom, 8-A. Ryan Patrick O’Leary’s demo is slated for Aug. 22 with his up coming courtroom date July 18 for a pretrial meeting.
The indictment versus the O’Learys consists of a few other victims, then 3-calendar year-aged and 5-year-aged boys, the couple’s biological young children, and a then 11-12 months-previous female who also suffered from child abuse and excessive neglect.
Additional: Cape Coral moms and dads indicted on six costs similar to the dying of their 18-month-old son
The 11-12 months-previous, Sheila O’Leary’s daughter with a various father, had been removed in a earlier malnutrition situation in Virginia and positioned with the organic father in 2009 because she “failed to prosper” in Sheila O’Leary’s treatment.
According to the parental custody at the time, the more mature child had been visiting the organic father in Virginia just about every two months for a number of weeks, which is probably spelled out her healthier visual appearance, law enforcement reported in the possible trigger assertion.
On Sept. 27, 2019, the 18-month-aged boy died of malnutrition in the O’Learys care, in accordance to a Cape Coral law enforcement report.
Sheila O’Leary named 911 when she discovered her son was not respiration and was cold. Ryan O’Leary tried to resuscitate the kid, but the toddler was pronounced dead when Lee County Crisis Medics arrived at their house.
When police spoke with Sheila O’Leary, she reported that the 18-thirty day period-old hadn’t eaten in a 7 days and was only becoming breast fed. She said she thought it was mainly because he was teething.
At 4 a.m., the boy was nursed for about a minute and then he began to have shallow breathing. Shelia O’Leary told law enforcement that he had by no means performed that in advance of and she should have identified as another person because she was apprehensive, the assertion suggests.
The O’Learys turned on their own in to Cape Coral law enforcement shortly following the formal bring about of death from the Lee County health care examiner was released on Nov. 6, 2019.
“The proof and crime scene in this situation are intestine-wrenching. These are images as a mom and Condition Lawyer I will not be in
a position to fail to remember,” condition lawyer Amira Fox claimed when the indictment was announced in 2019.
Cape Coral law enforcement detectives noted the 18-month-old was extremely malnourished, along with the boy’s siblings, ages 3 and 5.
For the duration of their 1st overall look in Lee County Court docket in November 2019, assistant state legal professional Francine H. Donnorummo stated all those two other children also suffered from malnutrition and a person experienced to have teeth pulled due to the fact of critical tooth decay and malnutrition.
Neighbors of the O’Learys, in an job interview with The News-Press shortly just after the arrests, said the pair moved into the ranch-style Cape Coral home all-around 2018 and their little ones seemed to be balanced.
The neighbors, Elizabeth and Robert Rioux, released on their own to the O’Learys when they to start with moved in and introduced the kids some toys and bubbles as a welcoming present.
“There ended up no pink flags, they just lived this kind of a key lifetime,” Robert Rioux claimed.
“We did not truly know what transpired, but the little ones were not there any more,” Elizabeth Rioux said.
“It is really a unfortunate circumstance and now who is aware what will occur to the mothers and fathers,” Robert Rioux stated.
He further mentioned that he is a believer in justice.
Whilst the Riouxs did not see the O’Learys considerably, Elizabeth Rioux stated she remembered the young ones would constantly run out and engage in in the rain.
Sheila O’Leary and Ryan O’Leary have remained in Lee County Jail considering that November 2019.
Link with breaking news reporter Michael Braun: MichaelBraunNP (Facebook), @MichaelBraunNP (Twitter) or mbraun@news-press.com. Studies from The Information-Push archives were utilised for this tale.
This posting at first appeared on Fort Myers Information-Press: Demo to begin for Sheila O’Leary, vegan mother whose toddler died of malnutrition
