Casper O’Brien weighed 116 kilos when he died. He was 7 years old. The normal weight for a child his age is around 27 kilos, according to the CDC. In February 2024 he weighed 47. In less than two years, something inside that house in Flint Township, Michigan, led him to quadruple his body weight.
Paramedics arrived on November 4, 2025 after an alert for breathing difficulties. They found the boy motionless on a bed, in a house so full of objects that access was difficult. Outside, without clothes and in terrible hygienic conditions, was his 5-year-old sister, also morbidly obese.
No school, no police, no child protective services knew these children existed. Casper only went to a medical appointment once in his life, even though his family had insurance. On the day he died, his parents did call a veterinarian for the family dog. Damien and Jessica O’Brien now face charges of second-degree murder, torture, and child abuse.