Parents of 7-year-old who died at 255 pounds found competent to stand trial for second-degree murder
09/10/2026 3:03 pm PDT
GENESEE COUNTY, Mich. (TCN) -- A mother and father have been found competent to stand trial for murder in connection with the death of their 7-year-old son, who died weighing 255 pounds last fall.
The investigation into Jessica O’Brien and Damien O’Brien began last year after a 911 call on Nov. 4, 2025. Paramedics arrived at a home they later described as consistent with a hoarding situation and found the child, Casper O’Brien, immobile. He died that night of dilated cardiomyopathy with morbid obesity as a contributing factor. He weighed 255 pounds.
Genesee County prosecutor David Leyton said, “What we allege is that he was not fed in a nutritious way. He was neglected and he was abused and his diet is part of it, and not getting whatever help he needed because he was nonverbal as part of it. All that adds up to an extreme case of child abuse resulting in someone’s death.”
Investigators learned that even though the family had health insurance, Casper O’Brien was allegedly never taken to the doctor, and neither he nor another child in the home attended school.
On June 23, Jessica O’Brien and Damien O’Brien were charged with second-degree murder, torture, and child abuse, and ordered held without bond.
Both parents underwent competency evaluations, WNEM reports. They reportedly did not attend a hearing on Sept. 9, either virtually or in person, for a review of those findings. Leyton said both are competent to stand trial, as they understand the proceedings and charges. Leyton said, “We will convict where necessary, but the ultimate goal is justice. That is what we are trying to achieve here for the little boy, for the defendants, who are still entitled to justice, and for the community at large,”
The next hearing for the couple is scheduled for Sept. 17, per WNEM.
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