Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- Michigan parents were charged with murder and child abuse after their son's death.
- Casper O'Brien, 7, died Nov. 4, 2025, from heart disease linked to obesity.
- The parents face life in prison; their daughter was placed in foster care due to neglect.
FLINT TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Months after a 7-year-old boy who weighed 255 pounds died in Michigan, his parents face murder and child abuse charges in connection with his death, court documents say.
Casper O'Brien, who lived with his family in Flint Township, Michigan, died on November 4, 2025 at a local hospital, after paramedics responded to a 911 call about a child having difficulty breathing, according to a Flint Township police report.
His mother told police she found him unresponsive and not breathing, police said.
He died of dilated cardiomyopathy, a form of heart disease in which the chambers of the heart become enlarged and too weak to pump blood efficiently, an autopsy report from the Genesee County Medical Examiner shows. The disease is often associated with severe obesity, defined by a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher.
The boy's parents, Damien and Jessica O'Brien, were charged on June 23 with second-degree murder and three counts of second-degree child abuse, court filings show. If convicted, they could face up to life in prison.
One of the child abuse charges against the O'Briens is in connection with Casper's sister, prosecutors said. When authorities responded to the Michigan home last year, they found the 5-year-old girl dirty with knots in her hair and "morbidly overweight," court filings say. She was placed in foster care, the Genesee County Prosecutor's Office told CNN Tuesday.
Attorneys for each of the parents said Monday it was "premature" and "too early" to comment on the allegations.
"As in all criminal matters, Mr. O'Brien is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. I will defend Mr. O'Brien in the courtroom, not through the media," said Elias Fanous, an attorney representing Damien O'Brien.
The couple is expected in court on July 2, the prosecutor's office said. They are being held at the Genesee County Jail.
At the time of his death, Casper was 4 feet, 2 inches tall, and had a BMI of 71.7, according to the autopsy report. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's growth charts show the typical BMI for a boy his age is about 16.
Jessica O'Brien told police she suspected the boy had autism and said he was nonverbal, according to the police report.
Casper wasn't enrolled in school and last saw a doctor in 2024 at an urgent care clinic, his mother told detectives, according to the police report. She noted she only took him to urgent care, the report said.
During that visit to urgent care, he weighed just over 104 pounds and was diagnosed with acute cough, throat congestion and metabolic disease, according to the Genesee County Medical Examiner. He was also referred to a pediatric endocrinologist, but the boy never saw one, the report said.
The family appeared to be living in "extreme hoarding conditions" with "wall-to-wall trash" and insects throughout the three-bedroom home, according to police officer accounts.
Casper didn't like water, which made bathing him difficult, his mother told authorities. Instead, she said, she would use baby wipes two to three times a week to help him wash up, and estimated Casper's last bath was six months before he died, according to the police report.
His mother told investigators his daily diet consisted of a large bag of potato chips, french fries, carbonated water and apple juice, the report said.
During police interviews, Jessica and Damien O'Brien told investigators they suffered from mental health issues, the report said.
Fanous, the attorney representing Damien O'Brien, declined to comment Tuesday on his client's mental health, the boy's health and how he was cared for, as well as the family's living conditions.
When asked Tuesday about the details in the police report, an attorney for Jessica O'Brien, Tracey Guisbert, said she received a large amount of discovery from the government the day before and is in the process of reviewing it.
"Mrs. O'Brien is presumed innocent unless and until she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," Guisbert said.
Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton described the case as sad and horrific, "involving the wanton and willful neglect by two parents for the care, welfare and medical needs of their son."
"Their neglect led to their child suffering severe bed sores, various rashes and other physical health disorders including extreme morbid obesity that ultimately led to his early death," Leyton told CNN Monday.
