TROY, Mich. — Nearly ten months after a routine hyperbaric oxygen session ended with a fireball that killed 5-year-old Thomas Cooper and severely burned his mother, the four Oxford Center employees accused of turning the chamber into a death trap are back in court.
Tamela Peterson, 58, the center’s founder and CEO; Jeffrey Mosteller, 65, the safety manager; Gary Marken, 66, primary management assistant; and Aleta Moffitt, 60, a technician, all face second-degree murder charges — an extraordinarily rare count against medical professionals in Michigan.
SUPPORT THE FAMILY - GOD BLESS YOU
Prosecutors say the four knowingly ignored basic fire-prevention rules that every certified hyperbaric facility must follow:
No grounding wrist straps on the child or staff
A warm blanket pulled straight from a running dryer (a banned ignition source)
Polyester pillows inside the 100% oxygen environment
The chamber’s cycle counter deliberately rolled back to hide excessive use
On January 31, 2025, those violations allegedly turned the pressurized chamber into a bomb. Video from inside the control room captured the moment oxygen ignited — a blinding flash, then flames shooting out as technicians scrambled while Thomas’s mother screamed for her son.
Thomas never made it out. His mother suffered third-degree burns over 40% of her body.
Today, Monday, December 1, the preliminary examination resumes in 52-4 District Court. Mayo Clinic hyperbaric safety director Andrew Melnyczenko — who testified in September that the Oxford Center’s practices were “the worst violations I’ve seen in 30
years” — will take the stand again.
If Judge Lisa Asadoorian finds probable cause, the case heads to circuit court, where Peterson, Mosteller, and Marken could face life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder. All four have pleaded not guilty and remain free on bond.
Outside court, Thomas’s father clutched a small Spiderman toy — his son’s favorite — and told reporters, “He was just trying to get better. They turned a healing chamber into a coffin.”
The hearing begins at 9 a.m. ClickOnDetroit will stream live.