State Attorney Amira Fox and Cape Coral Police Chief David Newlan announce that today the Lee County Grand Jury indicted Ryan Patrick O’Leary and Sheila O’Leary for First Degree Murder, Aggravated Child Abuse, Aggravated Manslaughter, Child Abuse, and two counts of Child Neglect.
Both are formally charged with the neglect, torture and murder of an 18-month-old child due to starvation and extreme lack of care.
The indictment also involves three other victims, a 3-year–old, a 5-year-old, and an 11-year-old child, all of whom suffered from child abuse and extreme neglect. The alleged crimes occurred during 2019 in Cape Coral.
Today’s indictment is the culmination of an investigation by the Cape Coral Police Department with the assistance of the Children’s Advocacy Center.
“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. I commend the detectives and officers with the Cape Coral Police Department for their difficult task of dealing with the horrendous nature of this case,” said State Attorney Fox.
Assistant State Attorney Francine Donnorummo, Special Victims Unit Chief, and Assistant State Attorney Heather Fly will be prosecuting the case.
The defendants will be arraigned on the charges in this indictment on December 23rd at 9 a.m. in front of the Honorable Judge Margaret Steinbeck.
