Why 3 People Face Murder Charges in Death of Boy, 5, in Hyperbaric Chamber: 'Debunked, So-Called Treatments'

Three people were charged with murder in connection with the death of a 5-year-old Michigan boy who was inside a hyperbaric chamber when it caught fire. A fourth person was charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Thomas Cooper was receiving treatment in the chamber — which contains 100% oxygen and is highly combustible — at The Oxford Center in Troy, Mich., in January, when a spark ignited a fatal fire, killing the 5-year-old. The boy was being treated for sleep apnea and ADHD, his family’s lawyer, James Harrington, tells PEOPLE.

Following an investigation that lasted over a month, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said at a press conference on Tuesday, March 11, that The Oxford Center’s CEO Tamela Peterson, its director of operations, Gary Marken, and safety director Jeffrey Mosteller had all been arrested and charged with second-degree murder as well as alternative counts of involuntary manslaughter. 

Aleta Moffitt, who was operating the chamber when it exploded, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and intentionally placing false information on a medical record as a medical provider, Nessel said.

“The Oxford Center routinely operated sensitive and lethally dangerous hyperbaric chambers beyond their expected service lifetime and in complete disregard of vital safety measures and practices considered essential by medical and technical professionals,” Nessel alleged. 

The defendants are all set to be arraigned later on March 11 and have not yet entered pleas.

Nessel further alleged that The Oxford Center showed “wanton or willful disregard for the likelihood that their actions would cause the death of a patient” by not following several important safety protocols, which she says makes their alleged actions amount to second-degree murder. 

Due to the alternative counts, a jury can also decide to convict the defendants on manslaughter charges if the threshold for murder is not reached, according to the attorney general.

“This was an unscrupulous business operating powerful machines … 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.

Harrington tells PEOPLE that Thomas’ mother suffered burns on her arms after trying to rescue her son from the fire.

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Thomas’ parents turned to The Oxford Center with the hope of alleviating some of the challenges stemming from his sleep apnea and ADHD, Harrington says. He added that the facility made “representations” online indicating that they could help with those problems.

“These statements that they made of items and things that they can fix, I believe to be relatively unfounded,” says Harrington. “As we know now from the charges that have been levied, there were serious problems that existed at The Oxford Center.”

On its website, The Oxford Center claims “studies have reported improvement in concentration, communication, working memory and sleep,” for ADHD patients who underwent hyperbaric therapy.

In a statement to WWJ, The Oxford Center said it was “disappointed to see charges filed.”

Harrington says he found it “almost comical” that the center said it was disappointed.

“There’s a family that’s disappointed in the treatment that they received for their son,” he says. “Shame on them for saying that.” 

A GoFundMe started to support Thomas’ family has raised over $67,000.