Michigan parents charged with murder in death of 7-year-old son who
weighed 255 pounds
[June 30, 2026]
By JAMIE STENGLE
The parents of a 7-year-old Michigan boy who weighed 255 pounds (116
kilograms) when he died have been charged with murder, torture and child
abuse, prosecutors said.
“Clearly the parents were feeding the child improperly, to say the
least,” Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said Monday. “He wasn’t
getting the nutrition he needed.”
Casper O'Brien died last November after first responders were called to
the family's home in Flint because he'd stopped breathing, prosecutors
said. His parents — Damien O’Brien, 40, and Jessica O’Brien, 41 — have
each been charged with second-degree murder, torture and three counts of
second-degree child abuse.
The couple were arraigned last week and are being held on no bond in
jail in Genesee County, about an hour's drive northwest of Detroit. A
probable cause hearing is set for Thursday.
The child, who was 4 feet, 2.5 inches (128 centimeters) tall, was
medically classified as obese, according to the Genesee County Medical
Examiner’s report. His cause of death was listed as dilated
cardiomyopathy, with his weight being a contributing condition. Dilated
cardiomyopathy happens when the heart becomes enlarged and weakened and
can’t efficiently pump blood, which can affect other body systems
including the lungs.
According to the criminal complaints, the parents failed to take Casper
for treatment even though the family had health care.
Elias Fanous, an attorney representing Damien O’Brien, said in a
statement that he wouldn’t speculate on the case’s circumstances and had
no comment beyond saying that his client was “innocent until proven
guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.” An attorney for
Jessica O’Brien did not immediately return a request for comment Monday.
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The Genesee County Courthouse is shown in Flint, Mich., Wednesday,
Oct. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
Leyton said authorities believe Casper just consumed “a steady diet
of snack foods.” He said Casper, who was nonverbal and bedridden,
had severe bed sores and various rashes.
The autopsy report said law enforcement and Child Protective
Services reported there were piles of trash in the home, and Casper
was not enrolled in school. Leyton said the hoarding in the home was
“terrible.”
One of the child abuse charges relates to the couple's 5-year-old
daughter, who was placed in foster care.
Casper last saw his primary care provider in February 2024,
according to the autopsy report, when he was diagnosed with a cough,
congestion and metabolic disease. At that visit, he weighed 104
pounds (47 kilograms), and his mother was given information on a
healthy diet and exercise, according to the report, which said he
was referred to a pediatric endocrinologist but never saw one. The
report said the metabolic disease wasn't specified in available
medical records.
“It’s a very, very sad and tragic situation,” Leyton said. “I’ve
been the prosecuting attorney for 22 years and I thought I’d seen it
all but I’ve never seen anything quite like this.”
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