Tragic Death of 5-Year-Old in Hyperbaric Chamber Sparks Criminal Charges

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A five-year-old boy lost his life in a horrifying accident when a hyperbaric oxygen chamber burst into flames during an alternative treatment session for ADHD and sleep apnea. Thomas Cooper was pronounced dead at the scene on January 31 at the Oxford Center in Detroit, with officials describing his death as an "incineration" inside the pressurized chamber.  

 

 

Authorities in Michigan have since charged five individuals in connection with the tragedy. The center’s founder and CEO, 58-year-old Tamela Peterson, has been charged with second-degree murder. The facility’s manager, Gary Marken, 65, and its safety manager, Gary Mosteller, 64, face charges of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. Aleta Moffitt, 60, who was operating the chamber at the time of the explosion, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and falsifying medical records.  

 

Thomas had been undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy, a procedure where patients breathe pure oxygen in a pressurized environment. The treatment has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for ADHD or sleep apnea, though some studies suggest potential symptom relief.  

 

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel provided a grim assessment of the incident at a press conference. “A single spark, it appears, ignited into a fully involved fire that claimed Thomas’s life within seconds,” she said. “Fires inside a hyperbaric chamber are considered a terminal event. Every such fire is almost certainly fatal, and this is why many procedures and essential safety practices have been developed to keep a fire from ever occurring.”  

 

Nessel accused the defendants of prioritizing financial gain over patient safety, stating they had subjected children to “unaccredited and debunked treatments for profit.”  

 

Raymond Cassar, the attorney representing Marken, pushed back against the charges, calling them a “total shock.” “This was a tragic accident, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of this little boy,” he said. “I want to remind everyone that this was an accident, not an intentional act. We’re going to have to leave this up to the experts to find out what was the cause of this.”  

 

Thomas’s family has not publicly responded to the charges, but attorney James Harrington, representing them, described their devastation. He revealed that Thomas’s mother sustained injuries while desperately trying to save her son from the fire.  

 

In the aftermath of the explosion, the Oxford Center released a statement expressing sorrow and pledging cooperation with investigations. “The safety and well-being of the children we serve is our highest priority,” the statement read. “Nothing like this has happened in our more than 15 years of providing this type of therapy. We do not know why or how this happened and will participate in all of the investigations that now need to take place.”  

 

Nessel stated that her office had consulted extensively with experts in hyperbaric therapy before pursuing charges. “Horrifying and simple conclusions were reached,” she said. “The Oxford Center routinely operated sensitive and lethally dangerous hyperbaric chambers beyond their expected service lifetime and in complete disregard of vital safety measures and practices considered essential by medical and technical professionals.”  

 

While some attorneys representing those charged have spoken out, others have declined to comment ahead of legal proceedings. A voicemail seeking comment from an attorney representing the Oxford Center has not yet been returned.  

 

As investigations continue, this tragic incident raises serious concerns about the oversight of alternative treatments and the safety protocols—or lack thereof—at facilities offering them.

 

Based on a report by The Telegraph  2025-03-14

 

 

[Watawattana]

Profit over lives.  If proven in court, all involved and their families, who enjoyed the fruit of that profit, need to be stripped of all their assets and cash, never mind those charged being put into prison for a very long time.

[Dirk Z]

Quack medicine in this case. The real indications for this kind of treatment are very limited but unfortunately quackers can easily misuse it.

[SanSaiExPat]

The City of Oxford and the State of Michigan  who licensed this business as well as the local daily rag that publicized advertisements for this  Business should also bear some responsibility for making this seem like a safe and government approved procedure.

[connda]

It seems that being a normal boy and acting like a young boys is now ADHD. Guarenteed that today at his age I'd have been "diagnosed" as ADHD.  I wasn't - I was just a kid being a kid.  The parents who placed him in the situation deserves some of the responsibility.  Well, actions have consequences.  Doubt they will ever live with that, speaking as someone who has lost a child to a violent end.  You don't ever get over it.