A Florida mother has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of her child. The 38-year-old and her husband from Cape Coral were charged on December 18, 2019 after their 18-month-old son died on September 27 of complications from severe malnutrition and dehydration.

The parents, who claim to only eat vegan, only gave the toddler and their three other children (3, 5 and 11 years old) fruit and vegetables to eat. When they found that one day he was not breathing, they called 911 and tried to revive him. But any help came too late. The mother told police the boy was breastfed but had not eaten solid food for a week. When he died, he weighed just 17 pounds, about 7.7 kilograms, and was the size of a 7-month-old baby. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), children of this age should ideally weigh around eleven kilograms.

The other children are also said to have been malnourished, one so bad that some of his teeth had to be removed. "The evidence and the crime scene in this case are unbearable. These are images that I, as a mother and as a prosecutor, will not be able to forget," said chief prosecutor Amira Fox at the time of the conditions that took place in the family home.

In addition to murder, the mother was also sentenced to 30 years in prison for aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter of a child. She was sentenced to five years in prison on two counts of child neglect and one count of child abuse. The penalties are to be served simultaneously. She was also banned from having contact with her children. Her husband remains in prison awaiting trial on the same charges.

Watch the video: Around 1.3 million Germans live vegan. What is unproblematic for adults can harm children. The German Society for Nutrition makes it clear: children and young people should not have to do without animal products for health reasons.

Sources: Lee County Attorney's Office, NBC News, New York Post