In a chilling set of events leading to the death of five-year-old Thomas Cooper, the CEO of the Oxford Center in Troy, Tamela Peterson, along with three other employees, faces severe charges. According to Detroit Free Press, Peterson was charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. The same charges were levied against operations director Gary Marken and safety and training director Jeffrey Mosteller, while chamber operator Aleta Harward Moffitt stands accused of involuntary manslaughter and entering false information on a medical record.
Detective Danielle Trigger, who testified before a magistrate, revealed concerning details about the accused's alleged actions post-incident. Peterson reportedly attempted to scrub evidence by fleeing from detectives and having her son clean her laptop. Obtained messages show her making cavalier remarks about utilizing hyperbaric chambers for unverified treatments, stating "Whatever gets bodies in those chambers, lol," as also FOX 2 Detroit reports a disturbing message that downplayed the tragic death of Cooper with Peterson allegedly writing, "If my leg was on fire, I would at least try to hit it and put it out. He just laid there and did nothing."
The Oxford Center, as indicated by testimonies and Detroit Free Press, offered treatments for conditions like autism, cerebral palsy, and ADHD using hyperbaric oxygen therapy, despite such applications not being FDA-approved. The Cooper family paid $8,000 for treatments that insurance wouldn't cover due to the lack of valid medical evidence supporting such use.
Michigan's Attorney General Dana Nessel described the business practice as predatory on individuals seeking treatment and characterized it as "unscrupulous." Noted by Trigger in documentation, there was a blatant neglect for safety measures at the Oxford Center, one of the allegations included tampering with a life cycle indicator on the involved hyperbaric chamber, as discovered by authorities. She also noted in testimony that a variety of necessary safety protocols, such as the use of grounding straps to prevent static electricity, were willfully ignored.
