Vegan Florida mom faces sentence in starvation death of son

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — A mother who followed a strict vegan diet in Florida faces sentencing for the malnutrition death of her 18-month-old son. Thirty-eight-year-old Sheila O’Leary was convicted in June of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter, child abuse and two counts of child neglect in the death of Ezra O’Leary. She learns her fate from a judge Monday afternoon in Lee County, Florida. Investigators said she and her husband told them they ate only raw fruits and vegetables, although the toddler also was fed breast milk. The child weighed just 17 pounds when he died. Ryan Patrick O’Leary goes on trial this month on the same charges.