Troy hyperbaric chamber explosion: Oxford Center employees bound for trial in boy's death

The four employees of a Troy medical facility where a 5-year-old boy died in an explosion inside a hyperbaric chamber, were bound over for trial Tuesday.

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Oxford Center CEO and founder Tamela Peterson, her management assistant, Gary Marken, and the center's safety manager, Jeffrey Mosteller, were all charged with second-degree murder, along with alternative counts of involuntary manslaughter, which would let a jury decide which charges fit the case.

Employee Aleta Moffitt is charged with involuntary manslaughter and intentionally placing false information on a medical record as a medical provider. Moffitt was the operator of the hyperbaric chamber at the time.

At the conclusion of today's final pretrial hearing, Judge Maureen McGinnis issued her ruling to bind over the four defendants who are accused of not following safety protocols in the January, 2025 tragedy.  

"Given the court's findings after the conclusion of the preliminary exam, this court today is binding each defendant over on both of their original felony counts consistent with the ruling that's been issued on the record today," McGinnis said. 

Thomas Cooper, 5, was killed in a Jan. 31 explosion in Troy. 

Cooper was in the hyperbaric chamber at the Oxford Center when it exploded, killing him and badly injuring his mother. 

One of the witnesses, ex-employee Tiffany Hosey, said in previous testimony she repeatedly warned Peterson and Mosteller that patients weren't being strapped with grounding straps. These straps are designed to prevent static sparks inside the chambers.

McGinnis referred to safety measures like this, where the straps were instead placed in a junk drawer.

"The decision-making pattern consistent throughout the testimony could lead a person of ordinary prudence to believe that Tammy, Gary, and Jeff had the knowledge and capacity to implement proper safety procedures but intentionally decided to implement procedures that were inconsistent with industry standards," McGinnis said. "Coupled with years of documented attempts by employees to raise issues relative to the use of the grounding strap, which appeared to be all but ignored, the evidence showed a continuing pattern of conscious decision-making by Peterson, Markin, and Mosteller to implement practices with willful and wanton disregard for the likely tendencies that could result, specifically taking action that increased the risk of a fire they knew a patient could never survive."

Thomas Cooper, 5, died on jan. 31 when the hyperbaric chamber he was inside of exploded. 

Moffit, who is facing different charges, was not spared by McGinnis for her role.

"There was sufficient evidence to contradict the defense's argument that Ms. Moffat was employed in her capacity as a tech, but knew absolutely nothing about the risks inherent in treating someone in a monoplace chamber," McGinnis said. "While the evidence may not convince the court today of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, there is enough to establish to a probable cause burden that Ms. Moffat's actions on the day of the fire fell short of what a reasonable person would do to avoid the outcome that ultimately killed Thomas Cooper."

The arraignment of the charges will come at a later date, stay with FOX 2 for more coverage as it becomes available. 

The Source: Information for this report is from today's court hearing and prior reporting. 

Crime and Public Safety