7-year-old weighing 255 pounds died having seen a doctor 'once' while his parents were quick to call a vet for their dog: Authorities

Two parents are behind bars in Michigan after authorities said their 7-year-old son died weighing more than 250 pounds in a startling case of alleged neglect.

Damien O'Brien, 40, and Jessica O'Brien, 41, face charges including second-degree murder in the death of their child, Casper Jacob Shane O'Brien, according to regional ABC affiliate WJRT and Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton. The defendants are being held at the Genesee County Jail on no bond.

According to authorities, on Nov. 4, 2025, officers with the Flint Township Police Department in Michigan were called to a home over a report of a child in distress. The child — Casper — was brought to a nearby hospital, where he died.

The cause of death was determined to be dilated cardiomyopathy, which is described by the Mayo Clinic as "a type of heart muscle disease that causes the heart chambers (ventricles) to thin and stretch, growing larger" and can be caused by obesity.

At the time of his death, Casper was reportedly just over 4 feet tall and weighed 255 pounds, far beyond the 50- to 73-pound range the CDC says is healthy for someone of his age, height, and sex.

"On the face of it, this is cruel and extreme suffering from this child caused by the neglect of the parents," Leyton told the local outlet. "That's obesity, and then you also have the fact that this child did not have a pediatrician, was only taken to the doctor, I believe, according to the police reports, once."

Leyton added that Damien O'Brien and Jessica O'Brien have a 5-year-old daughter, too. The father apparently has a "good job" and health insurance. Yet on the morning Casper died, the parents allegedly called their veterinarian "to have their dog treated."

"None of these kids even existed in the eyes of the government," the prosecutor continued, saying child protective services had "never" been out to the family's home. "Nobody knew about these kids."

The defendants are expected to appear in court on July 2.

Casper's obituary states that he was "a bright, loving young boy whose joyful spirit touched everyone around him."