{"id":730603,"date":"2026-06-28T06:37:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T06:37:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/730603\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T06:37:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T06:37:15","slug":"michigan-parents-charged-with-murder-after-7-year-old-son-dies-at-255-pounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/730603\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan parents charged with murder after 7-year-old son dies at 255 pounds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n  <\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">The parents of a 7-year-old boy who died weighing 255 pounds have been charged with murder following a case of <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_us_article_main-content_article-body_6_247843\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/starved-toddler-died-neglect-after-eating-diapers-drywall-filthy-room-parents-room-kept-clean\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">suspected neglect near Flint, Michigan<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">Damien and Jessica O&#8217;Brien are charged with <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_us_article_main-content_article-body_6_247844\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/us\/crime\/homicide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">second-degree murder<\/a>, torture and child abuse, according to authorities.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">First responders were called to the O\u2019Brien\u2019s&#8217; home in November after their son, Casper, stopped breathing, according to a <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_us_article_main-content_article-body_6_247845\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fox2detroit.com\/news\/parents-charged-murder-7-year-old-son-who-weighed-255-pounds.amp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">report<\/a> from affiliate FOX 2 <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_us_article_main-content_article-body_6_247846\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/us\/detroit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Detroit<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">The young boy was bedridden, unable to speak and living in filth, according <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_us_article_main-content_article-body_6_247847\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/two-arrested-nc-after-police-find-13-year-old-kept-dog-kennel-5-other-kids-filthy-home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">to the report<\/a>. He ultimately died at the hospital from a heart muscle disease compounded by morbid obesity.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_us_article_main-content_article-body_6_247848\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/indiana-parents-arrested-abuse-after-allegedly-zip-tying-10-year-old-son-telling-sibling-beat-him-up\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">INDIANA PARENTS ARRESTED FOR ABUSE AFTER ZIP-TYING 10-YEAR-OLD SON, TELLING SIBLING TO BEAT HIM UP<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782628634_627_image-10.png\" alt=\"Damien and Jessica O'Brien are charged with second degree murder, torture, and multiple child abuse charges.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Damien and Jessica O&#8217;Brien are charged with second degree murder, torture, and multiple child abuse charges. (Genesee County Sheriff&#8217;s Office)<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton told the outlet the conditions were so severe that police noted they could not enter the house to help paramedics because there was no room.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Both parents were employed and had health insurance, but neither Casper \u2014 who Leyton noted was nonverbal and likely on the <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_us_article_main-content_article-body_6_247849\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/health\/education\/autism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">autism<\/a> spectrum \u2014 nor his younger sister received medical care, according to the report.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/courtroom.png\" alt=\"courtroom and gavel\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>The parents are charged with second-degree murder, torture and child abuse, according to authorities. (iStock)<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;They knew enough to call the veterinarian the very morning the child went into [cardiac arrest] because the dog was sick,&#8221; Leyton told FOX 2. &#8220;But yet they don&#8217;t take the kids to the doctor. [It] doesn&#8217;t make any sense to me.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Casper&#8217;s 5-year-old sister, who Leyton described as &#8220;feral,&#8221; was removed from the home on the day he died by Children&#8217;s Protective Services and has been <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_us_article_main-content_article-body_6_247851\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/foster-mom-accused-exchanging-child-exotic-animal-bizarre-trade\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">placed into temporary foster care<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Alexandra Koch is a Fox News Digital Editor, with a focus on high-impact events that shape national conversation.<\/p>\n<p>She has covered major national crises, including the L.A. wildfires, Potomac and Hudson River aviation disasters, Boulder terror attack, and Texas Hill Country floods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! The parents of a 7-year-old boy who died weighing 255&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":730604,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,27202,107222,694,1303,3,986,13952,56954,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-730603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-childrens-health","tag-crime-world","tag-homicide","tag-michigan","tag-news","tag-obesity","tag-parents","tag-police-and-law-enforcement","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=730603"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730603\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/730604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=730603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=730603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=730603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}