FLINT TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A Michigan couple is facing second-degree murder charges after their 7-year-old son died from heart failure linked to severe obesity amid what prosecutors described as years of horrific parental neglect in a filthy hoarder home.

Damien O’Brien, 40, and Jessica O’Brien, 41, were arraigned this week on charges including second-degree murder, torture, and three counts of second-degree child abuse in the November 4, 2025, death of their son, Casper O’Brien.

Casper stood just 50.5 inches tall but weighed a staggering 255 pounds at the time of his death — more than four times the healthy weight range of roughly 50 to 73 pounds for a boy his height, according to CDC guidelines.

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton called the case one of “cruel and extreme suffering” caused by the parents’ neglect.“This child did not have a pediatrician, was only taken to the doctor, I believe, according to the police report, once,” Leyton said. “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.”

“I can’t think of what else this is, other than extraordinary, terrible neglect,” Leyton added. “And to me, that is willful and wanton misconduct, which is second-degree murder.”

According to police and court records, Jessica O’Brien called 911 just before 9 a.m. on Nov. 4, 2025, reporting that her son was not breathing. Paramedics performed CPR at the family’s home on Dania Street and rushed Casper to Hurley Medical Center in Flint, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later.

The Genesee County Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death as dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart enlarges and weakens, with morbid obesity as a contributing factor. Casper was reportedly immobile and bedridden in a makeshift bed shared with family members.

Police described the home as a hoarding situation in “deplorable conditions.” Officers reported piles of trash throughout the residence so extreme that they could not tell whether there was carpet or wood flooring underneath. A bathroom toilet was non-functioning and filled with feces. The conditions were repeatedly called “absolutely disgusting.

”Casper, who was autistic, had never been enrolled in school. He reportedly had texture issues with food and was fed a diet heavy in potato chips and fries. Despite the family having health insurance through Damien O’Brien’s job as a cloud engineer, Casper had minimal medical care. His last documented doctor visit was in February 2024, when he was referred to a specialist he never saw.

The couple also has a 5-year-old daughter who was removed from the home by Child Protective Services and placed in temporary foster care.

Leyton noted that on the morning of Casper’s death, the parents contacted their veterinarian about their dogs.

An obituary published after Casper’s death described the boy as “a bright, loving young boy whose joyful spirit touched everyone around him.”The parents are being held without bond in the Genesee County Jail. They are scheduled to return to district court on July 2 for a probable cause conference.

The case has drawn widespread attention after local news reports and video of the prosecutor’s comments circulated online, raising serious questions about how such extreme neglect could go undetected for so long.

Prosecutors allege the O’Briens failed to provide proper care for their son’s morbid obesity, failed to take him to the doctor despite having insurance, and failed to provide a safe and clean living environment.