Parents Booked for Murder After 7-Year-Old Son Dies at 255 Pounds

Parents Booked for Murder After 7-Year-Old Son Dies at 255 Pounds 

It’s a story with the headline so shocking and sad you have to read it twice to believe what police are alleging. This 7-year-old boy is dead. He allegedly weighed 255 lbs. Now his parents are charged with murder after the boy was found unresponsive in their home. >> For a 7-year-old male, seven not breathing.

 Sounds like they’re getting CPR started. I have the newly released police report that details what allegedly happened on the day that young boy was found living in conditions that police say were so horrific they quote cannot be accurately described in words. We’re on the case presented by Law and Crime. I’m Chris Stewart 255bs. Let’s face it, that is a weight that’s considered heavy by adult standards.

 But a seven-year-old, you just continue to ask yourself, how is that even possible? The average weight, by the way, for a seven-year-old boy, it should be between 50 and 55 pounds. 7-year-old Casper O’Brien, though, should be known for so much more than just the way that he died and his weight at the time that he died, which has made this such a national story.

 There’s no question that 7-year-old Casper faced a lot of challenges in his life from the moment he was born. He was diagnosed with autism, his family says, and they also say that he was non-verbal. But his obituary, and this is important, it says that Casper was a bright, loving young boy whose joyful spirit touched everyone around him.

 An important thing to note with that obituary is that it also reads that he has survived by his parents, Jessica and Damian. And the context there is the obituary was written shortly after Casper passed away on November 4th, 2025. And there is a lot that has changed since then because Jessica and Damian are now accused of killing young Casper.

 You may have already seen the headlines in this story. Certainly that number 255 pounds and and the questions about how that was even possible. But the police report that we have that I’m about to share with you gives details that make this story so much more difficult because I’ll tell you what allegedly Casper’s parents said when police arrived at the house and what their alleged excuses were for not just the state of the home but the health of their seven-year-old son.

 It’s across a die in Corana for a 7-year-old male, seven, not breathing. Sounds like they’re getting CPR started. E26 in route from downtown. >> Police were called on that day in November in the morning to a house in Jese Township, Michigan, specifically Flint Township. And as you read through this police document, you find that officers really had a hard time finding the words to accurately describe what they reportedly saw inside.

 So, we found the call from November 4th in Jese County that sent officers to the home of the O’Briens. Now, inside the house, Casper was not breathing. Police write that they get to the home just before 9 in the morning, and Jessica O’Brien said that Casper had been breathing that morning around 8:30, but then 15 minutes later, she went to check on him, and he was no longer breathing.

 So, she called 911. One of the first officers who entered the home writes, quote, “I observed extreme hoarding conditions. There was trash on the floor throughout the residence. It was so extreme. I could not tell if there was carpet or wood floors. Police, and I noticed this as you read through, it’s a 16-page police report.

 And each narrative from the I think about five officers who write what they encountered that day. They really had a hard time finding the words to describe what they experienced when they went into this house. There’s one officer who writes, quote, “The residence was absolutely disgusting and can’t be accurately described in words.

” Another officer said, “Upon entering through the front door, I observed the living room completely covered in trash, including numerous stacked garbage bags.” Then, in the summary of one statement by an officer, they write, quote, “The residence was overwhelmingly cluttered and unsanitary with large amounts of trash and poop throughout which emitted an overbearing and foul odor.

 Furthermore, there were abundant insects throughout the entirety of the residence. This home was a mess, and that is putting it lightly. And inside, as they work their way through the trash, police say they encounter Casper O’Brien, this young boy who was unresponsive. They were allegedly doing CPR on him, Casper’s family member, specifically his uncle.

 But police end up rushing Casper to the hospital and he is pronounced dead before noon on that day. And according to the local medical examiner, Casper’s cause of death was dilated cardiomyopathy. So I looked that up. I’m obviously not a doctor, but the National Institutes of Health says that it is heart disease and it’s associated with people who struggle with obesity.

 And to my understanding, your heart enlarges and it’s almost stretched too thin to be able to pump blood effectively. Casper’s heart, it was just too weak to continue working. Now, police end up speaking to both Jessica and Damen O’Brien separately, and based on what’s been alleged, you hear a lot of excuses for the state of the home and the health of their son.

They have a 5-year-old daughter also, by the way, who was found inside the house. And police alleged that her fingernails were dirty and her hair was knotted and tangled, and she also had a bad cough, which police were concerned about her health. And when you think of everything that was potentially in the air with the descriptions we’re getting from inside the house, that is a major concern.

 The story that the O’Brien’s give about Casper’s dayto-day is nothing short of heartbreaking. Jessica told investigators that Casper was mobile, but she also said he spent 12 hours a day in his bed. So, let’s face it, he was bedridden for most of the day. His mother told police that Casper’s diet consisted of a daily large bag of potato chips, a large French fry, carbonated sugar water, that’s called ice, and apple juice.

 Jessica O’Brien also said that all Casper wanted to do was eat because of an undiagnosed eating disorder. Now remember, Casper’s only seven years old and he’s non-verbal. Now, police say he had not seen a doctor in 2 years. And they alleged that Jessica never really made an effort to take Casper to a doctor, but they also say, and this is important when you think of how the criminal case could play out, they allege that she could have.

 And we’ll talk a little bit more about how that factors into all of this in a moment. Now, Casper reportedly didn’t bathe for approximately 6 months. His dad said he would allegedly clean him with wipes roughly three times a week. And he said that Casper didn’t like water, but they did have a working shower. So, there’s another example of something that could have been done and the resources were there to do it, but they didn’t.

 According to police, what police say they found when they examined Casper’s body at the hospital is really disturbing. So, I’m going to give you a warning of that before we get into it. Police say that the bag that Casper was in after he was pronounced dead had a concerning smell, but it was not the smell of a body decomposing, but quote, “Poor hygiene and filth and possible infection.

” Quote, “Casper appeared to not have been bathed for an extended period of time. Dirt, dead skin, and unknown buildup was observed all over Casper’s body. Casper had long hair that appeared extremely dirty and began to dreadlock in several areas, indicating that it had not been brushed in a long time. Casper’s fingernails were very long, unckempt, and filthy.

 Upon examining Casper’s skin folds and armpits, the officer writes, “I observed redness and open soores that appeared to be infected with redness and swelling around the affected areas.” It also says, quote, “I observed some of the worst open soores and rashes I have ever personally witnessed. Casper’s disposable brief diaper was soiled with dry feces and urine.

” Upon removing Casper’s brief, he had deep red rashes with open soores to both of the backside of his legs, thighs, and buttock that also appear infected with redness and swelling around the affected areas. Now, these injuries and Casper’s alleged conditions, these do not happen overnight. I want to show you this picture here.

 This is on Jessica O’Brien’s Facebook page that we found. And it’s a picture from 2022. It’s unclear how things got so bad in this house. Allegedly, as you just take a look at Casper there, obviously a big kid, but again, at the time he passed away, we’re talking about 255 lbs according to police. Now, as far as Damen O’Brien, the dad is concerned.

 He told police that his son he thought weighed 170 pounds, which look that would still be huge for a seven-year-old, but again, 255 is the number that police say he weighed at the time that he died. There’s one other thing that I really noticed in the narrative that’s been laid out by police, and it’s that Jessica O’Brien told them that one of the family dogs had a stroke the night before Casper died, and she got up that morning to make a vet appointment.

 Think about that. her dog allegedly has a health issue. So, the first thing she does, call the doctor for that dog. And yet, her son hadn’t seen a doctor in roughly 2 years. Police say she didn’t even know who Casper’s pediatrician was. This was a boy who had serious medical issues. Jessica and her husband, though, apparently they went to the doctor plenty.

 Court records state that Jessica said that she and Damian would go to the doctor regularly and her most recent appointment was the month before her son died. On top of that, she says that Damen’s job, which was working in it, it came with good health benefits with a co-ay of just $20. Now, when asked why she did not take her non-verbal autistic son to a doctor, police say inconvenience was the reason.

 She didn’t like the fact that she would have to go and wait in a waiting room for a long time, then see a doctor, and then after five minutes, the doctor would say her son was okay. She also told police that she had a distrust of doctors because she claimed she was sexually assaulted by a doctor. Now, look, I am not one to deny whether anything like that ever happened, and it is certainly unclear if that is the truth.

 Um, but even if it is the truth, remember she saw a doctor just the month before her son died. Casper died in November and for months the investigation continued. And then on June 23rd, police arrested Jessica and Damen O’Brien. Police say that Damian did not speak to police and he asked for a lawyer when they went to arrest him at their home.

 As far as Jessica, she did speak to investigators. Police say in an interrogation they showed her pictures of Casper’s body and Jessica allegedly claimed that the soores on Casper’s backside were only there for a month. They note that originally she claimed that they were only there for a couple of days.

 She then said that she had no idea that Casper had rashes on his body. This family allegedly claims that they had given Casper some sort of bath with wipes. Well, not really a bath, but they would clean his body with wipes multiple times a week. But then Jessica said that Casper didn’t like being wiped, so she only wiped his body quickly.

 And quote, Jessica stated it wasn’t as much wiping as she would have liked. Now, police then pushed back on Jessica saying that she was unaware of the health issues that her son was having. Quote, I then asked Jessica, “Did you ever think of how much pain Casper was in?” Jessica replied, quote, “No, and I probably should have.

” I then asked Jessica, “Why do you say that?” Jessica replied, “Just seeing this now, I didn’t know it was this bad. I didn’t know it was that bad. I was so in my depression that it just I then summarized that Casper hadn’t received a bath or shower in over 6 months, only white baths two to three times a week.

” I then summarized medical opinions from medical records. I then asked Jessica how mobile was Casper. Jessica stated Casper was still mobile, but he would lay in bed for approximately 12 hours a day. Jessica was then asked if her and Damen ever discussed their concerns for Casper’s medical state and the condition that he was in.

 Jessica stated, quote, “No, we were falling apart at that point. His drinking had gotten really, really bad and we weren’t really communicating and I was basically taking care of the kids on my own.” She alleges that Damian has a drinking problem. On top of that, she allegedly admitted that financially they were in good shape because Damen makes decent money and they both get prescription drugs to help control their diabetes.

 So you’re seeing there their conditions are being handled inside the home, but allegedly their son who weighed 255 pounds at the age of seven who was autistic and non-verbal, he did not get medical care according to police. Casper also did not go to school, so he was out of the view of adults who may have been able to help before it was too late.

 Casper’s parents said that they wanted him to attend a school for children on the spectrum, though it is unclear whether any steps were actually taken to make that happen. Michigan prosecutors don’t see what happened to Casper though as just an act of child abuse or neglect, even though allegedly it certainly is that.

 They are calling this murder. Jessica and Damian are charged with seconddegree murder, torture, and three counts of secondderee child abuse. One of the child abuse charges, by the way, is related to the health and safety of Casper’s 5-year-old sister. We told you already that police had concerns about her, and they say she was quote morbidly overweight and dirty.

The attorneys for the O’Briens are slated to be in court on July 2nd. Casper was 4 foot2 at the time of his death, which makes his body mass index 71.7. And according to the CDC, a 7-year-old’s BMI should be 16. Joining us now to talk more about this case is retired detective commander Willar. Um, I just keep thinking of 255 pounds.

 And it’s just like how like for the parents in the police records that we have acting as if nothing was wrong. They were surprised. I mean, you have people who have worked, you know, I think it’s the medical examiner that says, “These are some of the worst sores I’ve ever seen like on a body, you know, and it’s just really hard to comprehend all of this.

” But what do you make of this being now a seconddegree murder case? >> I think that’s an appropriate charge, and I think they had a way to make to log that charge until the ME came back up with their with the ruling. Uh, 255 pounds at 7 years old. How could that even be? >> Right? You know, it’s almost like what comes to mind, and it’s gross to think about this.

 It comes to mind is how they feed the geese when they do the fall grat. Almost like you’re just funneling food into this poor kid’s mouth. The neglect charges were easy. They just had to take one look around the place, the condition of the place, condition of the other child that was found there. That’s easy.

 But the the seconddegree murder charge, you had to wait for the meme, and it’s appropriate >> 100%. Um, and and you just think of like what stood out to me in a lot of the police reports is how especially Jessica O’Brien, the mom, allegedly admits that she had seen a doctor as recently as last month. She admitted that they had health insurance, $20 co-pay because her husband has, you know, what they describe as was I mean, he works in IT, so that’s like solid work that he has with health benefits.

 She said that there were financial no financial constraints on the family. Like this was not a situation where you say, “Well, the family fell on hard times.” Like she said money was coming in. Um, and then on top of it, the part for me is she that morning says the night before the dog had a stroke and she was gonna call the vet.

 And it’s like here’s a dog having a health issue and she’s calling a veterinarian, but then her son is at this incredible weight and has a ton of health issues and yet he hadn’t seen a doctor for two years. How does that when it comes to and and kind of I list all of that to like ask the question of like when you’re trying to prove that this was not just a neglect case that this was far worse than that.

 How did those details factor into the argument you can make in talking to a prosecutor if you’re an investigator about what you found? >> Here’s what comes to mind to me. Wanting and willful. The behavior on those parents is wanting and willful. You don’t take You don’t put a kid in school. They said he was non-verbal and autistic.

 never had him diagnosed. Uh the other the other child is also morbidly obese and wandering around unclothed. This is this is intentional behavior by these parents. And you have to talk about the intentional part of the behavior. Torture. Torture was was on one of the charges. Now torture. What could that be? Could that be force-feeding this kid? I think it could be.

 But you have to show that is want wanting and willful. And because there is another charge in Illinois, there’s a charge of child neglect resulting in death, but it’s not murder. And if you go forward with the murder charge, you know, you take into consideration the ME saying these these are some of the worst bed sores I’ve ever seen, you know, and they’ve seen a lot of them, especially when you deal with like elderly and nursing homes that don’t get moved and things like that.

 So, I I think the prosecutor has a strong case and I think law enforcement put together a good case to say it wasn’t just neglect. It wasn’t just not paying attention. He was willfully keeping the kid from a doctor, willfully, you know, not providing the kid a u a atmosphere or an environment where he could thrive or even get better.

 So, I think that charge is appropriate and and again, and this is what you have to prove, wanting and willful behavior. It also stood out to me that the story seemed to change a little bit and police made note of that in the report where she was somewhat aware of some of the health issues that Casper had when it came to some of these rashes and soores.

 And I guess initially she had said, “Oh, I think they were there for just a couple of days.” And then for a medical examiner to look at that, like those aren’t things that just show up >> over 24 hours. >> And then when she is being interrogated this month, she said it was more of a month. And I know it’s been several months since all of this took place, but like the story starts to change a little bit there.

 She also alleged that at one point in her life she was sexually assaulted by a doctor and that led to her having a distrust of doctors. I’m not one to say whether or not that actually happened, but she herself saw a doctor last month, she said. And then on top of that, and this was infuriating, she said she really just didn’t want to go to the doctor because you wait in the waiting room for a long time and then you see the doctor for five minutes and they say your son’s okay and then goes home.

 Like the fact that the story changes so much does not look great for her as well. If all of that is true, >> the only story that never changes is the truth. When the truth is always the truth. When you start seeing the changes in the story, you’re seeing justification of bad behavior. She talks about, “Well, you know, the kid’s filthy because he never liked water, so I wiped him down with like uh baby wipes.

 Come on.” And and on top of everything, like, “Yeah, I don’t trust doctors. Why is he 255?” You know, I I don’t care if you you don’t trust a doctor. Why is that kid 255 pounds? And who how did we miss it? Where do they live? And what type of neighborhood do they live where nobody sees this? Nobody wonders where these kids are.

 Are their grandparents? You know, the kid went to the doctor two years ago. other mandated reporters at the dock. But again, the kid was 150 lbs lighter two years ago. >> Well, and that’s the thing, too, is like the the weight and like people watching this episode are like, “Dude, we probably get it because like I just saying it’s so hard to comprehend.

” I mean, 255 pounds is an NFL linebacker. This kid was 7 years old and he was 4 foot2. Um, and it’s just you you do see some pictures from 2022, I think 2023, um, on Facebook and he looks like a big kid, but he doesn’t look like the the that weight number that’s been alleged, um, in this case.

 And so, like, there is part of this of like you hear some of the exc or read some of the excuses in the police report and it’s like, oh, I probably should have done a little bit more here. Oh, I wish I had known what was going on. And it’s like you cannot and I’m sure for a jury if this was to go to trial, they will see a picture of his body.

 Like I it has to be way more shocking than any image that is out there right now to understand how someone that young would weigh that much. >> 32 years on the police department working murders. Most of those 32 years, I’ve seen a lot of things. I never saw anything like that. I mean, I’ve seen neglect cases. I’ve seen abuse and baby murders, but I have never seen anything like this.

 when it comes to some of these hoarding cases because it was also apparent that the smell in this house was terrible. I mean, one officer wrote he couldn’t tell if it was wood floors or carpet because it was just that dirty um inside of this house. Um like as someone like when you have responded to a hoarding case like that, like how like I know the smell must be terrible and like you’re just kind of taking it in, but like what are some of the things in so much chaos that you’re looking for to gather evidence? What’s it like to gather evidence in an environment like

that? It’s I mean it almost here’s the thing you think about you think about in insect infa in infestation rodent infestation and you have it I assure you you have it in in this house plus you can’t move the inability to move around there’s fire hazards there’s all these things that you do document you write all this stuff down to build your case and you photograph it and you videotape it and and it’s all things that lead to the injurous environment and that is I mean I’ve had a couple of cases where it took us a minute to get to the victim

because you had to climb through garbage, >> man. And it’s just uh Yeah. And it just it comes across that there was just you just wonder how even people apparently there were four dogs in the house, too, which is uh you know, and then there was the mom, the dad, and then an uncle who was not facing charges.

 Um but you have to wonder what his level of awareness was of what was going on. Um but again, no charges there as of yet. And then Casper had a a 5-year-old daughter who was also or a sister, excuse me, and there was a neglect charge related to her condition because it was not something that police um say uh was healthy either.

 Um moving forward, like looking at the timeline it took to get to this point. So Casper O’Brien dies on November 4th, 2025. His parents are arrested, I believe it was the 23rd of June. What do you make of the amount of time it took from the morning that they arrive at this house to now being in a situation where both parents have been arrested? >> Uh, I mean, I think it’s it’s it doesn’t surprise me that it took that long.

 Uh, there’s a lot of stuff that goes into this. Again, we’re not trying to prove a neglect charge. That pretty much proves itself. We’re trying to prove a murder charge. So, you’re going to need everything. And you know, they’re not going anywhere. You know where they are. Uh, you’ve removed the 5-year-old.

 She’s got a shot now. Maybe being healthy again and and living a normal life, but you better make sure you got all your your ducks in a row so you can get that that murder case charged. So, it doesn’t surprise me it took that long. >> And then just when it comes to as as someone who’s investigated, you know, hoarding case, neglect cases, because it goes to this overall question that I I don’t think that we can effectively answer, but still like how does how does something like this happen? How does a home get to this point? Like what have

you seen in your career? Like a neglect case like this? How does it get to the point even for this one, as unique and terrible as it may be? How does a home get into the condition that apparently this one was in in Flint Township, Michigan? >> It didn’t start seven years ago. It didn’t start five years ago when they had these kids.

 This is something that’s been going on for a long time. To to accumulate that much junk, that much garbage, it was going on long before that. So those kids were born into that environment and it only gets worse. It doesn’t get better. But it’s not something that took seven years. It took longer than that >> because what do you make of the fact that he does seem I’m not going to say he was healthy.

 I mean I don’t know his medical records Caspers but like in 2022 2023 he looks like a big kid and then you have this 2-year period where suddenly he has gained weight which like just defies what you think would even be possible for someone that young. I I know that she said something about, well, his his diet consisted of carbon or sparkling soda and potato chips.

 It’s not possible, >> right? >> The amount of calories you have to pump into a body and then you get to a certain weight where you need x amount of calories to maintain that weight. I I I don’t know what was going on in that house, but good lord, >> you actually bring up a really good point because in the police report, I think what they allege is like a large bag of potato chips, a large fry, and then this uh like ice water u but it’s like sugary carbonated soda pretty much.

And it’s like that just still doesn’t add up to to hit that particular weight. Like it just seems like there has to be more there. You would have to have a constant drip of of of carbonated sugar soda almost like an IV to make to put that many calories in your body to gain that kind of weight. I I it’s got to be it’s got to be force it’s almost like force feeding.

 I can’t imagine anything else. >> Yeah. I mean it hasn’t been alleged as of yet, but you also think of like again like for an adult who’s maybe like six feet tall, the amount of work you would have to put in over a long period of time to like reach that number. uh is just like it just defies everything that at least I thought and I’m not an expert on it by any means, but like how that would even be possible.

 So like we’ll we’ll see what happens next in this story. This boy deserves such a better life than than what he got in the short time that he was with us just 7 years old. Um you know, we’ll see we’ll see what happens next. The attorneys for the parents are expected uh in court tomorrow, I believe. So we’ll see what happens next.

 in this case is both um Jessica and Damen O’Brien um facing charges including seconddegree murder. Retired detective commander Willar, formerly with the Chicago Police Department. It’s always great to have you here on Long Crime. I know you have uh your own podcast now. People can find it here on YouTube. What do people need to know about it? Uh it’s it’s we’re we have uh four people, myself, 32 years in homicide in Chicago police.

 Two excellent homicide detectives, uh Danny Stove and Tim Murphy and it Moren Okonnell, who is a a 25-y year FBI vet who’s just brilliant. And uh our our it’s called Big City Crime Inside the Red Tape. And what we mean when we say inside the red tape is we’ve been inside the red tape. That’s the inner crime scene perimeter.

 So, we’re just trying to give our perspective on, you know, crimes that are happening around the world and around the country just from what we with our experience have seen from inside the red tape. >> And and it’s great insight. I mean, you do it so well here on this show, but for so many of us who have never been inside the red tape, I’ve certainly been outside of it, covered a lot of crime scenes, it’s always fascinating to hear how um all of you and law enforcement are able to bring these cases together and as we see in the story, like we’re

talking about here, really tough situations as well that you have to deal with um on the way to, you know, potentially get a conviction in a lot of these tough cases. Retired Detective Commander Will Var with the Chicago Police Department. Always great to have you on Law and Crime. Thanks for being with us today.

 That will do it for on the case presented by law and crime. Subscribe to us on YouTube and Spotify and we are also streaming on Peacock. I’m Chris Stewart. We’ll see you next time.