Michigan parents charged with murder after neglected 7-year-old son dies weighing over 116 kg

Damien O'Brien, 40, and Jessica O'Brien, 41, were arrested on June 24, 2026, and are held without bail, with a court appearance set for July 2. The charges stem from the death of their son Casper on November 4, 2025, after a 911 call reported he had stopped breathing.

The boy's fatal decline

Casper was 4 feet 2.5 inches tall (about 1.28 metres) and weighed 255 pounds (116 kg) at the time of his death, according to an autopsy report, giving him a body mass index of 72. The Genesee County medical examiner determined the cause of death was dilated cardiomyopathy, with morbid obesity as a contributing condition.

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

Leyton, the county prosecutor, said Casper was last seen by a primary care physician in February 2024 and was referred to a pediatric endocrinologist, but his parents never took him to the appointment.

Diet and living conditions

An autopsy report noted that the boy's daily diet consisted of a large bag of potato chips, french fries, apple juice and a flavoured sparkling water.

“It was reported that the decedent's diet was potato chips and fries because of texture issues.”

The rental home was described by investigators as a hoarder house full of garbage, with a single bathroom whose broken toilet was filled with human waste. Casper was found in a makeshift bed shared by all four family members. He was immobile, had developed pressure ulcers and his nails had never been trimmed, according to the criminal complaint.

Sister and legal proceedings

A five-year-old sister also lived in the home. Authorities said she, too, was medically morbidly obese and was found outside naked, dirty and with knots in her hair. Neither child attended school, and prosecutors say the parents used a stable job with health insurance to isolate the children rather than seek help.

“On first glance this is cruel and extreme suffering inflicted on this child by the parents' neglect.”

Damien O'Brien's attorney, Elias Fanous, said it would be premature to comment until receiving the prosecution's documentation and pledged to defend his client in court, not in the media. If convicted of second-degree murder, both parents could face life in prison.