Four Charged In Death Of 5-Year-Old Killed In Hyperbaric Chamber

Four people have been arrested and charged in connection to the death of a 5-year-old boy who was killed in a hyperbaric chamber.

Five-year-old Thomas Cooper died in a fiery explosion on January 31 while undergoing treatment in a hyperbaric chamber at the Oxford Center.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, “A hyperbaric chamber is a sealed environment where patients breathe 100% oxygen under increased pressure, used to treat conditions like decompression sickness, gas gangrene, and wounds that struggle to heal, by increasing oxygen levels in the blood and tissues.”

Oxford Center founder and CEO Tamela Peterson was arrested in connection to Thomas’ death and charged with second-degree murder.

Here’s what NBC News reported:

Four people were arrested and charged Monday in connection with the death of a 5-year-old boy who was killed in a hyperbaric chamber in Michigan this year, police said.

Thomas Cooper died in a fiery explosion on Jan. 31 while he was undergoing treatment at the Oxford Center, an alternative medicine facility in the Detroit suburb of Troy.

Oxford Center founder and CEO Tamela Peterson was among those arrested in Thomas’ death. Peterson and two other people were charged with second-degree murder, while a fourth person was charged with involuntary manslaughter and intentionally placing false information in medical records, court documents show.

Gerald Gleeson II, Peterson’s attorney, declined to comment on her arrest Monday evening.

Attorneys could not immediately be located for Gary Marken or Jeffrey Mosteller, the two others charged with second-degree murder, both of whom appear to hold director titles, according to Oxford Center company webpages.

An attorney for the fourth person charged, Aleta Moffitt, declined to comment.

Moffitt was charged with involuntary manslaughter and falsifying information; her attorney, Ellen Michaels, did not say what Moffitt’s job was at the center.

Per People:

Four people have been arrested after a 5-year-old boy died inside a hyperbaric chamber in Michigan, police confirmed to PEOPLE.

On Monday, March 10, the four were taken into custody following the Jan. 31 explosion, Troy Police Department shared via email. The arraignment is set to take place on Tuesday, March 11, police added.

As previously reported by PEOPLE, lawyers representing the child’s family identified the victim killed as Thomas Cooper, according to the Detroit Free Press and local outlet WWJ.

Authorities previously said the child was in a hyperbaric chamber at The Oxford Center in Troy, Mich., when the explosion occurred just before 8 a.m. local time.

Per NBC News, the founder and CEO of the alternative medicine facility, Tamela Peterson, was among those arrested. Peterson and two others have been charged with second-degree murder, while a fourth person is facing charges of involuntary manslaughter and intentionally placing false information in medical records, the outlet stated, citing court documents.