Michigan parents charged with murder after 7-year-old son dies at 255 pounds
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The parents of a 7-year-old boy who died weighing 255 pounds have been charged with murder following a case of suspected neglect near Flint, Michigan.
Damien and Jessica O’Brien are charged with second-degree murder, torture and child abuse, according to authorities.
First responders were called to the O’Brien home in November after their son Casper stopped breathing. report from affiliate FOX 2 Detroit.
According to the report, the young boy was bedridden, unable to speak and living in filth. He eventually died in hospital from heart muscle disease accompanied by morbid obesity.
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Damien and Jessica O’Brien are charged with second-degree murder, torture and multiple counts of child abuse. (Genesee County Sheriff’s Office)
Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton told the press that conditions were so severe that police were unable to enter the home to assist paramedics because of lack of space.
Both parents were working and had health insurance, but neither Casper (who noted that Leyton was nonverbal and likely on the autism spectrum) nor his younger sister received medical care, according to the report.
The parents are charged with second-degree murder, torture and child abuse, according to authorities. (iStock)
“They knew enough to call the vet the morning the child went to the hospital.” [cardiac arrest] “Because the dog was sick,” Leyton told FOX 2. “But they still don’t take the children to the doctor. [It] It doesn’t make any sense to me.”
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Casper’s 5-year-old sister, whom Leyton described as “feral,” was removed from the home by Child Protective Services the day of her death and placed in temporary foster care.
