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Shannon Ryan gets life sentence in Leila Cavett killing after remains were never found
A Florida judge sentenced Shannon Ryan to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of second-degree murder in the 2020 disappearance of Leila Cavett. Cavett’s body has never been found; her 2-year-old son was discovered alone in Miramar hours after she was last seen in Hollywood.
Shannon Ryan was sentenced to life in prison Friday for the killing of Leila Cavett, a 21-year-old mother who disappeared in South Florida in July 2020. A jury found Ryan, 44, guilty of second-degree murder in September.
Cavett was last seen at a gas station in Hollywood. Her body was never recovered. Hours after she vanished, her 2-year-old son, Kamdyn, was found wandering alone at an apartment complex in Miramar. Her pickup truck was found abandoned several days later.
Court documents said Ryan described himself to investigators as a witch and chakra master and told them he had known Cavett since about January 2019. He said she had traveled to Florida to sell him her truck.
Investigators cited surveillance video showing Ryan carrying a large garbage bag to a dumpster at the gas station where Cavett was last seen. Documents also said he bought trash bags, duct tape and carpet odor eliminator at the Walmart where the truck was left.
Ryan testified at trial that he bought those items to clean garbage from his car and the truck. He had pleaded not guilty.
The case drew attention across South Florida after Cavett disappeared and her young child was found alone. Ryan’s conviction and life sentence resolve the criminal case against him, though Cavett’s remains have not been found.