The hoarder parents of an obese 7-year-old boy who weighed 255 pounds when he died of heart failure have been charged with his murder for their “extraordinary, terrible neglect,” according to prosecutors
Damien O’Brien, 40, and his wife Jessica O’Brien, 41, are additionally facing child abuse and torture charges in the death of their 7-year-old son, Casper — who had never been to school and only ever visited a doctor once.
“On the face of it, this is cruel and extreme suffering from this child caused by the neglect of the parents,” Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton told WJRT of the couple, who also have a 5-year-old daughter.
Police responded to a 911 call for a child in distress at the family’s dilapidated home in Flint Township, Michigan on Nov. 4, 2025.
Casper was rushed to a local hospital where he died a short time later from dilated cardiomyopathy, a disease that leads to heart failure, with a contributing cause being morbid obesity, according to a medical report.
He was 4-feet, 2-inches tall and weighed 255 pounds when he died — far exceeding what the CDC considers a healthy weight for a 7-year-old boy of the same height, which is between 50 and 73 pounds.
“That is obesity. This child did not have a pediatrician, was only taken to the doctor I believe … once,” Leyton told WJRT.
Damien O’Brien has a good job and the family has health insurance.
The morning Casper died, they even called their veterinarian to have their dog treated, Leyton said.
Casper also has a 5-year-old sister who lived at the house, which police described as a hoarding situation.
“None of these kids even existed in the eyes of the government. CPS had never been out there, nobody knew about these kids, they had not been to school,” Leyton said.
“I can’t think of what else this is, other than extraordinary, terrible neglect. And to me, that is willful and wanton misconduct, which is second-degree murder,” he added.
The O’Briens were charged with second-degree murder, child abuse and torture this week.
They are being held at the Genesee County Jail without bond and are due to appear in court next on July 2.
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