Vegan parents from Florida have pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges stemming from the death of their 18-month-old son caused by starvation.
Ryan O’Leary, 30, and his wife, Sheila O’Leary, 35, appeared at their arrangements on Monday and entered not guilty pleas to first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter, child abuse and two counts of child neglect.
Photos taken in court during the hearing show the couple, both dressed in identical white long-sleeve shirts and red jumpsuits, looking impassive while facing Judge Bruce Kyle.
Ryan O’Leary, 30, and his wife, Sheila O’Leary, 35,were arraigned in Florida court Monday on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter, child abuse and two counts of child neglect
Ryan was arraigned first and pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him
Like her husband, Sheila showed no emotion as she pleaded not guilty to the counts
Earlier this month, a Lee County Grand Jury indicted the O’Leary pair in connection to the death of their son, Ezra Sage O’Leary, who weighed only 17lbs at the time of his death in September, according to a Cape Coral police report. Experts said that is in line with what an average seven-month old should weigh.
The couple allegedly fed the toddler and his siblings a raw diet that left them malnourished.
State Attorney Amira Fox said in a statement the indictment also includes three other children, ages 3, 5 and 11, who also suffered from child abuse and extreme neglect. They are identified only by their initials, L.O., I.O., and L.C, reported The News-Press.
‘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,’ Fox said.
According to a press release from the Cape Coral Police Department, on September 27, officers responded to a report of an 18-month-old who had stopped breathing at his family home. Paramedics who were summoned pronounced the toddler dead at the scene.
The boy weighed just 17lbs at the time of his death. An autopsy later found that the toddler succumbed to conditions associated with starvation, including dehydration, a liver disorder and swelling of the hands and feet, reported The News-Press.
Sheila and Ryan O’Leary’s 18-month-old son, Ezra, starved to death in late September
Police were called to the family’s home in Cape Coral (pictured) on September 27 for a report of a child not breathing
Detectives with Major Crimes Unites arrived to find the deceased boy and two of his older siblings, ages three and five, appearing extremely malnourished and small for their age.
A probable cause affidavit stated that both children were pale and had yellowish skin, and one of them had blackened teeth caused by dental decay.
A third child, aged 11, was also present at the scene but appeared healthier than her younger siblings.
Documents reveal that the 11-year-old, who is Sheila O’Leary’s daughter from a previous relationship, visits her biological father in Virginia every two months, which could explain her better physical shape, compared to her emaciated half-siblings.
When interviewed by police, the mother-of-four said her youngest child had not eaten anything other than breast milk in the week leading up to his death. She said she thought he did not have appetite because he was teething,
On the morning of his death, the 18-month-old began to experience breathing problems after nursing for a minute. His mother conceded to police that she should have sought medical help for him, but instead she and her husband fell asleep.
Sheila revealed that the boy was delivered at home and had never seen a doctor, according to the probable cause affidavit.
The O’Learys’ children were all fed a diet mainly consisting of mangoes, bananas, avocados and rambutans, and were home-schooled by their mother.
During their initial court appearance, Sheila’s defense lawyer argued that her 18-month-old son had been sick for six months prior to his death
The couple’s two surviving biological children were removed from the home and placed in the custody of Child Services after their brother’s death, while their older half-sister was sent to live with her father in Virginia.
A prosecutor previously said that one of the children had to have teeth pulled because of severe decay and malnutrition.
The state attorney’s office said that Sheila had a prior case out of Virginia, after her eldest daughter had been placed in state custody for failure to thrive and severe malnutrition.
The parents turned themselves in to police after their son’s cause of death was revealed on November 6.
During their the couple’s initial court appearances, Sheila’s defense lawyer argued that her 18-month-old son had been sick for six months prior to his death, reported Fox 4 Now.
Attorney John Musca pushed back against claims that the couple’s children were malnourished, arguing that they were naturally small from birth but ‘perfectly healthy.’
The parents are due back in court for a hearing on January 7.