kid dies weighing 255 pounds. parents charged with 2nd degree murder

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

[rampartd]

1. murder?

i don't know.

certainly, some kind of child protective situation, i might get to manslaughter but unless they were force feeding the kid .....

[WhiskeyGrinder]

2. The parents are accused of not taking the kid to a doctor for his health issues.

[rampartd]

3. kids die of measles every day

how many parents charged?

[LisaL]

14. If a child was dying from measles and parents

didn't take him or her to the doctor, I wouldn't be surprised if there were charges brought.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

7. No doctor visits, no school either

[Melon]

4. This is absolutely child abuse and as we see terminal

Why would that not carry a serious charge?7 years old a 250 pounds. The child should have been taken away long before this if someone would have reported them.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

18. More..boy was bedbound, eating mostly french fries and potatoe chips

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/27/us/michgan-parents-charged-murder-obesity.html?unlocked_article_code=1.tlA.oEn6.CLD2N_lA4Y6-&smid=url-share

[LisaL]

25. Basically, a junk food diet.

He also apparently haven't been to a doctor in nearly two years, despite father having medical insurance. I don't know if this qualifies as second degree murder, but it certainly sounds like severe neglect to me.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

30. worse than junk food... no variety in the kind of junk food that he ate

[senseandsensibility]

32. Horrifying details in that article

Thanks.

[Jean-Luc]

5. proceded in death by younger brother...

[hookaleft]

8. where did you read that?

I read the article and watched the video but didn't see that.

[Ms. Toad]

11. Obituary.

https://www.sharpfuneralhomes.com/obituaries/casper-obrien

O'Brien, Casper Jacob Shane - Age 7, of Flint, passed away November 4, 2025. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 PM Saturday, November 15, 2025, at Sharp Funeral Homes, Miller Road Chapel, 8138 Miller Road, Swartz Creek. The family will receive friends from 11:00 AM until the time of service at 1:00 PM Saturday. In lieu of flowers, those desiring may make contributions to the family care of Damien O'Brien. Casper was born September 25, 2018, in Flint, Michigan, the son of Damien and Jessica (Gietzen) O’Brien. Casper was a bright, loving young boy whose joyful spirit touched everyone around him. He loved watching Super Monsters, especially his favorite character, Frankie Mash. He is survived by his parents, Damien and Jessica O’Brien; his beloved little sister, Illeana O’Brien; grandmother, Donna “Nana” Gooch; aunt, Mary (Tory) Ball; and uncles, Jay O’Brien and Elbert Leach. He was preceded in death by his little brother, Phoenix. Online condolences may be shared at www.sharpfuneralhomes.com

[LisaL]

13. The surviving sister

was also morbidly overweight. Would be interesting to know if she lost weight by now (I presume she was removed from these parents).
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/michigan-parents-charged-murder-7-year-old-son-rcna351984

[yardwork]

17. That is horrifying.

[lavoosh99]

6. It's Pretty Bad When Parents Let a Child Weigh Almost As Much As Trump n/t

[malaise]

9. No words

Last edited Fri Jun 26, 2026, 07:34 PM - Edit history (1)

Rec

[GenThePerservering]

10. I know mug shots are usually pretty awful

but those parents look AWFUL.

And yeah, upthread, both a kid dying of measles and this is really bad, but this is constant neglect and abuse - but I guess you don't care.

[Boo1]

12. The mechanism of death

here would probably have been him carrying so much weight on his frame that his heart couldn't physically pump blood because the fat was compressing it too much to beat effectively.

I've coached kids his age before, and even the biggest ones rarely weight over 100 lbs. He was 2.5x that. Everything that he ate to get that size, they had to give it to him.


2nd degree murder in Michigan would require that you can show the death occurred because the person put the victim in a position where severe bodily harm could happen and they were aware that it would likely end in death.

I think involuntary manslaughter would be an easier case to prove, but the fact that they didn't enroll him in school or take him to the doctor might be used to show that they were actively trying to hide his condition knowing that they would be in trouble because of it.

[Celerity]

15. they look like I expected they would

[Grim Chieftain]

16. OMG!

I hope they strap them to chairs and force feed them sticks of butter. No, I don't, I'm better than that but holy freaking hell!

[DFW]

24. What a smiling pair they are

They look like they were pulled from Central Casting

[Maru Kitteh]

19. There was a boy in my hometown roughly the same age and size

There is a very real disorder that causes children to constantly, unceasingly seek food every moment they are awake. This child would wail pitiously in very real pain if he did not have food in his hands.

These parents are at first glance guilty of neglect, but there may be more to the story. It’s very sad in any case.

I do not know what happened to the boy in my hometown, as I moved away.

[VTderry]

20. It's called Prader-Willi Syndrome

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/prader-willi-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20355997

A friend of mine had neighbors with a son who had it. It sounds like hell on earth for all involved.

[Maru Kitteh]

21. It absolutely does sound like hell on Earth for everyone.

It seems possible or perhaps even probable this child suffered from this issue. If so, I have some measure of sympathy for all of them. What a horrible affliction and what a tragedy. I’m guessing few people survive beyond early/mid adulthood in such circumstances.

[LisaL]

23. I sincerely doubt that the kid had it.

Father looks to be very overweight himself. But males with this syndrome are usually infertile, so seems unlikely that the father would have produced multiple children if he had the syndrome to pass to his kids. Regardless, even if the kid had any sort of syndrome, doesn't appear that these parents took him to doctors to get him medical attention. Also, the surviving daughter is described as severely overweight. I think they were all eating junk food in large quantities.

[LisaL]

22. I don't think the kid had Prader-Will Syndrome.

Parents look to be very overweight themselves. My guess they are eating large quantities of junk food day in and day out.

[jmbar2]

28. That was my first thought

In one of my first jobs out of college, I worked at a home for disabled kids.

The Prader kid was the most challenging because of how smart and determined he was to get at food, and how violent he got if he couldn't.

He could make amazing pizza from institutional bulk foods like pancake mix, ketchup, bologna, and American cheese.

[LisaL]

29. This kid is described as bed ridden near the end.

He certainly wouldn't be able to get any food himself if he could not walk.

[jmbar2]

31. If he was Prader Willi, he probably exhausted his parents long before he became bedridden

Easier to give him what he wanted instead of treating him long-term.

[senseandsensibility]

26. The child has such kind eyes

and the parents' eyes look dead. Poor baby. He never had a chance.

[LisaL]

27. If he was removed from the parents at some point in time, he might have had a chance.

But it doesn't appear that people knew about his condition. Last time he went to a doctor was nearly two years ago, and his weight was considerably less at that time (although even then it was clearly abnormal). He gained ~150 lb in less than two years.