A vegan mother has been found guilty of starving her toddler to death after only feeding him raw vegetables and fruit.
Sheila O'Leary was convicted on charges including first-degree murder and child abuse after the death of her 18-month-old son in 2019.
Jurors of the 38-year-old's trial began deliberating following closing arguments on Tuesday morning.
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Francine Donnorummo, Special Victims Unit Chief at the Florida State Attorney's Office, said that O'Leary failed to provide her son Ezra with proper food and health care.
She said the mum "made choices that killed her child."
Adding: "Her pride cost Ezra his life. It is a reckless disregard for human life."
Lee Hollander, O'Leary's defence attorney, showed jurors multiple photos of the mum with her son.
"Does that look like a mom who wants to kill her kid?" he asked.
"Just because it happened doesn't mean she committed a crime."
While the state was reportedly pleased with the verdict, Hollander said it was a disappointing outcome.
"Thought we made an argument. But then the jury was out three and a half hours, so they weren't rushed to judgment," Hollander said.
O'Leary is scheduled to be sentenced in July.
The boy's father, Ryan Patrick O'Leary, 33, was indicted on similar charges and is awaiting trial.
The couple has remained in Lee County Jail since their arrest.
At the time of his death in September 2019, baby Ezra weighed just 17 pounds.
The parents alerted emergency services after noticing he wasn't breathing and told officers that the family followed a strict vegan diet, only eating raw fruits and vegetables.
Sheila O'Leary said that Ezra was also fed breast milk. However, an autopsy determined his cause of death was from malnutrition-related complications.
State Attorney Amira Fox said the couple also abused and neglected their three other children, ages three, five, and 11, at the time of Ezra's death.
She said: "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."
The O'Learys were charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter, child abuse, and two counts of child neglect.
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