A couple from Florida is currently facing murder charges for starving their 18-month-old to death on a raw food diet.
The couple reportedly fed their children only raw fruits and vegetables.
In November this year, the parents were charged with aggravated manslaughter for being responsible for the toddler’s death, but on Wednesday, a grand jury upgraded the charges.
30-year-old Ryan Patrick O’Leary and 35-year-old Sheila, the parents, were indicted by a Lee County Grand Jury on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter, child abuse, and 2 counts of child neglect.
The announcement was made by State Attorney Amira Fox in a press conference on Wednesday.
Authorities said the toddler weighed only 17 pounds, which is the average weight of a 7-month-old when he died in September this year.
Attorney Fox said the diet was a form of torture.
Authorities said the child died from starvation and extreme lack of care.
On September 27, 2019, the 35-year-old mother of the toddler called authorities after finding out that her toddler was cold and was not breathing.
The mother tried to resuscitate the child, but he was pronounced when the Lee County Emergency Medical paramedics arrived at their house.
The medical examiner of the child determined that the kid died from complications due to malnutrition, which includes swelling of hands, feet, and lower legs, dehydration, and microvesicular steatosis of the liver.
The couple said they were vegan and fed their 4 kids a raw fruit and vegetable diet, which mainly consisted of rambutans, bananas, avocados, and mangoes.
The couple also stated that the toddler’s diet was supplemented with breast milk.
A week before the death of the child, he did not eat any solid food.
The other kids of the couple, whose ages are from 3 years old to 11 years old, also suffered from child abuse and extreme neglect.
Attorney Fox, 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.”
2 children have been removed from the home of the parents for their safety, while the other 11-year-old is living with her biological father.
The parents, who are to be arraigned on December 23, 2019, can face the death penalty if they are found guilty in the charges that they are facing.