Parents charged with murder fed obese son, 7, ‘steady diet of snack foods’ as he gained 151 pounds in 21 months

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A married couple charged with the murder of their obese 7-year-old son let the boy consume a “steady diet of snack foods” as he gained 151 pounds in less than two years before dying.

“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,” Leyton said of little Casper O’Brien, who weighed 255 pounds when he died inside his family’s Michigan home last November.

Casper was eating “a steady diet of snack foods” up until his death, the prosecutor said.

The poor diet of the youngster wasn’t his only health concern.

Authorities also believe Casper was nonverbal, bedridden, and plagued with bed sores and various rashes, according to Leyton. 

“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.”

The child died from “dilated cardiomyopathy” – a medical condition that hampers the heart’s ability to pump blood –  on Nov. 4, 2025, according to the Genesee County Medical Examiner’s report. 

His weight played a contributing factor to his death, the report stated. 

The shocking allegations are the latest in what authorities claim is a pattern of serial neglect by parents Damien O’Brien and Jessica O’Brien.

Authorities also allege that the O’Brien family home was filled with trash and that Casper wasn’t enrolled in school, according to an autopsy report citing law enforcement and Child Protective Services. 

It was also stated that the family neglected to get Casper health care – even though the family had health insurance, according to a criminal complaint. 

He was taken to a doctor in February 2024, weighing 104 pounds at the time, according to his autopsy report.

The two parents were recently charged by prosecutors from Genesee County, Michigan – about an hour from Detroit – for second-degree murder, torture and second-degree child-abuse.

An attorney for Damien O’Brien only said that his client was “innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”