Child's hyperbaric chamber death spurs murder charges against health CEO, safety director

Yahoo

11-03-2025

The CEO and the safety director of a Michigan wellness center are expected to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon on charges of second degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the death of a 5-year-old boy inside a hyperbaric oxygen chamber.
Court records from 52-4 District Court in Troy, Michigan, show that Tamela Peterson, CEO of the Oxford Center in Troy, and Jeffrey Alan Mosteller, its safety director and director of training, have been charged in the Jan. 31 death of Thomas Cooper.
The boy, described by his family as curious, energetic and thoughtful, was in the midst of his 36th hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment for ADHD and sleep apnea when the pressurized chamber burst into flames. Thomas was trapped inside. His mother desperately tried to free him but failed.
Peterson's attorney, Gerald J. Gleeson II, declined to comment until after his client's Tuesday afternoon arraignment. No attorney was listed on court documents for Mosteller.
Two other people were arrested Monday and also are expected to be charged in the child's death, Lt. Ben Hancock of the Troy Police Department said Monday evening.
One of those is Gary Marken, who is on the Oxford Center's advisory board and is listed on the center's website as its director of operations. He also was charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, online court records show.
Raymond Cassar, an attorney for Marken, said in a written statement that the tragedy was an accident rather than intentional. His client wasn't tasked with overseeing the hyperbaric chamber and has never been in trouble with the law before, he said. The charges were shocking to Marken and his family, Cassar said.
"We realize that everyone wants answers to how this happened, but that will have to be left up to the experts," Cassar said.
The Oxford Center, which has locations in Brighton and Troy, issued a statement late Monday to the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, calling the timing of the charges "surprising."
"After cooperating with multiple investigations starting immediately after the tragic accident in January, we are disappointed to see charges filed," the statement said. "The timing of these charges is surprising, as the typical protocol after a fire-related accident has not yet been completed. There are still outstanding questions about how this occurred. Yet, the Attorney General's office proceeded to pursue charges without those answers."
State Attorney General Dana Nessel's office planned to hold a news conference at midday Tuesday.
James Harrington, managing partner at Fieger Law, which is representing the family, told the Free Press in February that Thomas' parents were unaware of the danger their son faced when he climbed inside the hyperbaric oxygen chamber on the last day of January at the Oxford Center.
Thomas' mother, Annie Cooper, raced from a nearby waiting area to his side, but couldn't get Thomas out of the sealed, tube-like chamber, Harrington said.
She was left to watch in horror as her son burned to death inside the chamber, which was full of pure oxygen. Annie Cooper suffered third-degree burns to her arms, but the psychological trauma was far worse, Harrington said.
"It's literally the worst thing that any parent could (experience)," he said. "And poor Thomas ... his last moments of life were being engulfed in flames and perishing in front of his mother. He was certainly aware of what was going on.
"An event like this should never, ever, ever happen," he said.
More: After fire kills 5-year-old boy, lawyer questions oversight of hyperbaric oxygen chambers
The Oxford Center's website says that Peterson, 58, founded the center after trying hyperbaric oxygen therapy to help her daughter, who lost the ability to walk or talk following an infection with viral encephalitis. The website says the treatment "saved her daughter's life." The goal of the center is to make alternative therapies financially accessible to families, she wrote.
The center's website suggests Mosteller, 64, "has worked in every aspect of hyperbaric medicine," in his 36-year career. In a recorded podcast episode, he spoke of "all of the amazing possibilities that Hyperbarics offers."
Marken, 65, described himself in a recorded podcast interview as a foster parent and grandfather of seven, and said he works to help men overcome mental health struggles as they age.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the air inside a hyperbaric chamber is made up of 100% pure oxygen in a pressurized environment. That increased air pressure helps a person's lungs get more oxygen to tissues throughout the body, which can help it heal and fight certain infections.
Treatments have been shown to relieve decompression sickness for scuba divers, to help firefighters, miners and others recover from carbon monoxide poisoning, to improve the success of skin grafts and to speed up the healing of infections, such as diabetic foot ulcers and gangrene, and in treatment of crush injuries.
The FDA also has authorized hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat severe anemia, radiation injuries and some types of complete and sudden hearing and vision loss.
But the Oxford Center is among the alternative medical centers or medical spas that, in recent years, have offered hyperbaric oxygen therapy for conditions that are not FDA approved, such as autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, sports injuries, COVID-19, depression, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, strokes, migraine headaches and as an anti-aging treatment.
Thomas Cooper's ADHD and sleep apnea are not among the medical conditions that are FDA approved for treatment with hyperbaric oxygen.
Contributing: Christina Hall
Contact Kristen Shamus: [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Child hyperbaric chamber death spurs charges against health executives