Hyperbaric chamber explosion: No charging decision by judge in 5-year-old's death

No charging decision for suspects charged in hyperbaric chamber fire that killed boy

The long preliminary hearing is adding another court date as testimony continues in Thomas Cooper's death.

OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - Employees and the CEO of the Oxford Center in Troy remain in court for the hyperbaric chamber fire that killed 5-year-old Thomas Cooper.

The backstory:

The family of Cooper will have to wait for a decision for an extended break in this preliminary hearing. Court will reconvene in January.

The group accused are owner and CEO Tamela Peterson, Gary Marken, Jeffrey Mosteller and Aleta Moffitt, all charged with second-degree homicide in the death of the little boy who died during the hyperbaric chamber explosion last January.

The police investigator on the case returned to the witness stand to answer questions regarding the case.

Once his testimony ended, attorney privately spoke with the judge who minutes later, announced the case will be pushed to mid-January.

The prosecution is trying to prove there’s enough criminal behavior to send them to trial.

There has been plenty of discussion swirling around the lack of a grounding strap which is standard for the hyperbaric chambers but was not on the Oxford Center's. It was alleged that the strap - which would have prevented a static spark - which was allegedly left in a drawer labeled junk.

One witness, a former technician, previously testified about the lack of safety precautions.

She told the court that she repeatedly warned the owner, Peterson, and safety director Mosteller, that patients were not being strapped with grounding bracelets.

Get caught up:

Tiffany Hosey said when she voiced her concerns, they did nothing about it. She says she expressed not feeling comfortable working in the chambers with those safety concerns and then, was let go.

FOX 2 asked attorney Todd Perkins - who is not associated with the case — if these types of long pauses are normal.

"This is a very unique situation, this is a very tragic situation," Perkins said. "Something no one would have wanted to happen. This is one of those situations where a criminal act from otherwise normal business behavior would have not made criminal, but someone lost their life.

"Because it has so much notoriety - this is a case people around the country are watching. I think that’s another reason why the judge is going to give a little bit more latitude to the prosecution, as far as, time."

The next preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 12.