TROY (WWJ) -- The owner and two employees of a Troy-based medical facility are now facing murder charges, following the death of a 5-year-old boy who was killed in a pressurized oxygen chamber explosion.
On Jan. 31, 5-year-old Thomas Cooper of Royal Oak was killed while being treated in an oxygen chamber at the Oxford Center in Troy. He died within seconds after a spark ignited a fire inside the chamber, according to authorities, and his mother was injured while trying to save him.
On Tuesday, Attorney General Dana Nessel announced second degree murder charges against that facility's owner, 58-year-old Tamela Peterson, as well as two other employees: safety manager 64-year-old Jeffrey Mosteller, and 65-year-old Gary Marken, a primary management assistant.
Nessel said the clinic put children at unnecessary and serious risk in the name of profit.
"This was an unscrupulous business, operating powerful machines beyond their manufacturer's intended term of use, on children's bodies, over and over again, to provide unaccredited and debunked so-called treatments — chiefly, because it brought cash into the door," Nessel said.
"Thomas Cooper, at just 5 years of age, died in an easily preventable tragedy occurring inside an unsafely operated medical device, beyond its intended service, at a facility that offered these services in accordance with whatever would provide them the most income or profit."
A fourth person, 60-year-old Aleta Moffitt — who was operating the hyperbaric chamber the day of Thomas' death — has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, and intentionally placing false information on a records chart.
The Oxford Center, which also operates an outlet in Brighton, advertises hyperbaric oxygen therapy for children with autism, ADHD and autoimmune diseases.
According to a GoFundMe set up to raise money for the Thomas' family, he will be remembered as a loving child, whose favorite activities included running, swimming and playing video games.
"He was the smartest and cutest kid that liked to zoom, zoom, zoom. He asked to see pictures of germs, liked to know how things worked, he liked to make field journals and he had finally started adding facial features to his people drawings," according to a message on the fundraiser page.
"He was planning to try mountain BMX racing and karate in the summer," the post continued. "...His favorite thing to do is 'super sonic mode.' Run as fast as humanly possibly. He had nature school last year and ran, jumped and rolled down hills. He loved mud. Loved to stomp on ice. Loved his mama and daddy so much." [Read more here].