Parents accused of murder and ‘terrible neglect’ of obese son, 7, who died weighing 18 stone

In November, seven-year-old Casper O’Brien died from heart failure.

The youngster from Flint Township in Michigan, US, was 4.2 ft tall and weighed in at more than 18 stone when he died – five times the normal weight of a boy his age.

His parents, Damien and Jessica, were arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder and are additionally facing child abuse and torture charges.

Casper had never been to school and had only ever visited a doctor once as prosecutors say they committed ‘extraordinary, terrible neglect’.

This comes despite the family having health insurance and the couple taking their dog to get treated at the vet the morning Casper passed away. Damien and Jessica also have a five-year-old daughter but Child Protective Services reportedly didn’t even know the children existed.

Damien O'Brien. (Flint Township Police Department)

“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.

“That is obesity. This child did not have a paediatrician, was only taken to the doctor I believe, according to the police report, once.”

Police are said to have responded to a 911 call for a child in distress at the family’s home on 4 November 2025. The young lad was then rushed to hospital and died a short time later.

Casper died from dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition which sees the heart’s left ventricle become enlarged, stretched and weakened. As a result, the heart’s ability to pump blood efficiently is severely limited and it often leads to heart failure.

Morbid obesity was also listed as a contributing cause.

Jessica O'Brien. (Flint Township Police Department)

Police have described the family’s house as a hoarding situation, with the five-year-old sister having lived there too. It’s reported that the landlord had tried to get into the home in November due to concerns about the property but the parents would not let him inside.

“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 continued.

He added that he can’t think ‘what else’ this case is ‘other than extraordinary, terrible neglect’.

Casper was just seven years old. (Sharp Funeral Homes)

“And to me, that is wilful and wanton misconduct, which is second-degree murder,” the prosecutor said.

This week, the O’Brien couple were charged with second-degree murder, child abuse and torture.

The pair are now being held at the Genesee County Jail without bond and are next due to appear in court on Thursday (2 July).