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Year after year we read horror stories of parents starving a child or children, sometimes to death.
This story is different – but only up to a point.
A 7-year-old boy who was never enrolled in school died at 255 pounds.
His parents have been arrested on charges of murder and torture. He was not their only child.
He was only 7 years old
On November 4, 2025, a 911 call summoned emergency services in Flint Township, Michigan.
The call was to a child in need.
7-year-old Casper was taken to hospital.
Unfortunately, he died of dilated cardiomyopathy.
A contributing factor, medical experts found, was morbid obesity.
At age 7, Casper was 4 feet 2. That’s slightly above average for his age, developmentally.
According to the CDC (obviously the highly politicized organization takes a large grain of salt), a “healthy” weight for him would have been less than 80 pounds.
At the time of his death, his weight was reportedly 255 pounds.
255 is less than some football players. Depending on a person’s build, this may be the ideal weight for an adult body.
For a 7-year-old, it’s not healthy. And authorities say it’s evidence of a litany of crimes committed by the deceased child’s parents.
‘Cruel and extreme suffering’
Damien O’Brien and Jessica O’Brien have been charged with a number of crimes.
The charges include second-degree murder, child abuse and torture NEW Mail reports.
According to Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton, it is about “cruel and extreme suffering of this child caused by parental neglect.”
In fact, Casper was not the only child in the house. The O’Briens also have a 5-year-old daughter.
Allegedly, they never enrolled Casper in school, effectively hiding both children – and their welfare – from society. Now one of these children is dead.
The O’Briens are due in court on July 2.
It is unclear what kind of legal defense they will attempt to mount regarding these charges.
Additionally, it is unclear how much evidence investigators uncovered regarding the welfare of both children prior to Casper’s tragic death.
The death of any child is a tragedy. Many of these deaths, perhaps most, are preventable.
If our society had more robust protections for children, this would likely never have happened.
