A Cape Coral mother is awaiting sentencing after being found guilty of first degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child, two counts of child neglect, and one count of child abuse in the starvation-related death of her baby son.

Sheila O’Leary, 38, is scheduled to be sentenced July 25.

She was found guilty on June 28 after the jury deliberated for just over three hours before returning the guilty verdict following a five-day trial in Lee County.

O’Leary and her husband, co-defendant, Ryan Patrick O’Leary, 33, were indicted by a Lee County Grand Jury, convened by State Attorney Amira Fox, on Dec. 18, 2019.

The boy was 18 months old when he died on Sept. 27, 2019. Evidence presented at trial showed the child died due to complications from severe malnutrition and dehydration. There were three other victims — a 3-year-old and 5-year-old boy, and an 11-year-old girl — who also suffered from extreme neglect and child abuse.

The O’Learys told officials called to their home when it appeared the baby had stopped breathing that the family was vegan and only ate fruits and vegetables, and that the children only ate raw foods, nothing cooked, according to the initial Cape Coral Police Department report.

Sheila O’Leary told police that the children’s diets then consisted mostly of mangoes, rambutans, bananas and avocados, the arrest report states.

Sheila had called 911 and then had met Lee County Emergency Services at the door of the couple’s Cape Coral home and handed the baby to the paramedics.

The child was pronounced dead at the home after an examination.

Sheila told a detective that the child had not been feeling well for the past week, had not eaten for a week, and was only being breastfed. She and Ryan believed this was due to the child teething, according to the report.

Sheila told police that the last time the child had had anything to drink was about 4 a.m. that morning, and she noticed he had shallow breathing when nursing him. She also told police that the child had never done that before, and that she should have called someone because she was worried.

Sheila said that when she awoke to her husband getting ready for work, she noticed the baby was not breathing and was cold. Ryan said he heard her scream, and tried to resuscitate the boy while Sheila called 911. The child had been born at their home, and never had been to a doctor before, which was a preference of the parents, according to Sheila’s statement to police.

The report stated that the child appeared “extremely malnourished” with his feet and hands swollen but no apparent injuries were visible.

Of the three other children residing in the home, two also appeared malnourished. One sibling, the oldest, appeared healthier than the others, which detectives speculated could be because she visited her father in Virginia every two months for a few weeks at a time. The other two children were “extremely small for their age and were a pale, yellowish color.”

A medical exam determined that both children were underweight and undersized for their age. The third child was listed as in the healthy range.

Assistant State Attorney Francine Donnorummo, Special Victims Unit Chief, and Assistant State Attorney Sara Miller, of the State Attorney’s Office Homicide Unit, prosecuted the case.

The Cape Coral Police Department investigated the case with the assistance of the Children’s Advocacy Center.

A pre-trial conference has been set for Ryan O’Leary, who remained in the Lee County Jail on Thursday.