Vegan mom gets life in prison for starvation death of son

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — A vegan woman convicted of murder in the malnutrition death of her young son has been sentenced to life in prison. Sheila O’Leary was sentenced Monday in Lee County, Florida. She was convicted in June of first-degree murder and five other counts in the death of Ezra O’Leary. Investigators say she and her husband, Ryan Patrick O’Leary, told them they ate only raw fruits and vegetables, although the toddler also was fed breast milk. The 18-month-old child weighed 17 pounds when he died in September 2019. Ryan O’Leary remains in jail while awaiting trial on the same charges.