Vegan Florida mom faces sentencing for son's starvation death

Fort Myers, Florida -- Vegan mother says she and her family eat raw meat The fruit and veggie, which said it had been eating only a strict diet, faced sentencing Monday for the malnutrition death of her 18-month-old son. 'He was convicted in June of six charges in Leary's death. A hearing is scheduled for Monday afternoon in Lee County, Florida.

O'Leary and her husband Ryan Patrick O'Leary, who are on trial this month on the same charges, told investigators the infant was also breastfed. . Police reports said the boy weighed only 17 pounds (8 kilograms), about the size of a 7-month-old baby.

"This kid didn't eat. He starved to death over his 18 months," said Francine his Donormo, chief of the Special Victims Division at the Lee County Attorney's Office. said during the trial.

The couple had two other children, her 3-year-old and her 5-year-old, who were also malnourished, investigators said. A fourth child was returned to his biological father in an earlier malnutrition case in Virginia, according to court records.

Her attorney showed a photo of O'Leary with one of her children during the trial, stating that she never intended to harm her children. tried to show

"Do you look like a mother who wants to kill her child?" said attorney Lee Hollander. "Just because it happened doesn't mean she committed a crime."

Hollander called for a new trial, saying "errors" led to her conviction. If the motion is granted, she said she would like a new attorney, telling a judge in July that her attorney had not defended her. the way she wanted it.