This afternoon, Sheila O’Leary was adjudicated guilty and sentenced to life in prison for First Degree Murder. She was also sentenced to 30 years in prison for Aggravated
Child Abuse and 30 years in prison for Aggravated Manslaughter of a Child. She was sentenced to 5 years in prison on two counts of Child Neglect and one count of Child Abuse. The sentences are to be served concurrently. She was also ordered to have no contact with her children. O’Leary was found guilty following a trial in June, in Lee County.
Sheila O’Leary and her husband, co-defendant, Ryan Patrick O’Leary, were indicted by a Lee County Grand Jury, convened by State Attorney Amira Fox, on December 18, 2019.
The first victim in this case is an 18-month-old child who died on September 27, 2019, in Cape Coral. The evidence at trial proved the child died due to complications from severe malnutrition and
dehydration.
The three other victims, a 3-year-old, 5-year-old, and an 11-year-old child, also suffered from extreme neglect and child abuse.
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.
Samantha Syoen – Communications Director, State Attorney’s Office