Parents of a child that passed away in November of 2025 are now facing some serious charges that could land them behind bars for a long time.

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The Genesee County Prosecutor’s Office has charged Damien and Jessica O’Brien with five criminal counts in the death of their son, Casper, who was 50.5 inches tall yet reportedly weighed 255 pounds when he died.

The couple is each charged with one count of second-degree murder, one count of torture and three counts of second-degree child abuse.

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton shared that first responders were called to the family’s home in Flint Township but Casper later died at a hospital.

Casper's cause of death was from dilated cardiomyopathy contributed to by morbid obesity.

What Is Dilated Cardiomyopathy

According to the Mayo Clinic, Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a condition where the heart's main pumping chamber (the left ventricle) becomes enlarged and stretched out.

Think of a healthy heart muscle like a tight, snappy rubber band that contracts forcefully to pump blood.

In DCM, that rubber band gets overstretched and loses its elasticity.

Because the muscle walls become thin and weak, the heart can't squeeze efficiently, making it much harder to pump blood to the rest of the body.

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton told ABC 12 how terribly neglected the O'Briens' kids were:

“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. And to me, this is willful and wanton misconduct, which is second-degree murder.”

Stories like this make me so angry, how could anyone do this to a kid, let alone their own flesh and blood.

I hope that the judge or jury that oversees this case gets justice for their son who would most likely still be alive if he wasn't neglected so terribly.