Four people were arrested and charged Monday in connection with the death of a 5-year-old boy who was killed in a hyperbaric chamber in Michigan this year, police said.
Thomas Cooper died in a fiery explosion on Jan. 31 while he was undergoing treatment at the Oxford Center, an alternative medicine facility in the Detroit suburb of Troy.
Oxford Center founder and CEO Tamela Peterson was among those arrested in Thomas’ death. Peterson and two other people were charged with second-degree murder, while a fourth person was charged with involuntary manslaughter and intentionally placing false information in medical records, court documents show.
Gerald Gleeson II, Peterson’s attorney, declined to comment on her arrest Monday evening.
Attorneys could not immediately be located for Gary Marken or Jeffrey Mosteller, the two others charged with second-degree murder, both of whom appear to hold director titles, according to Oxford Center company webpages.
An attorney for the fourth person charged, Aleta Moffitt, declined to comment.
Moffitt was charged with involuntary manslaughter and falsifying information; her attorney, Ellen Michaels, did not say what Moffitt’s job was at the center.
All four defendants are scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday, a Troy police spokesperson said.
Sam Vitale, an attorney representing the Oxford Center, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News. In a statement to WXYZ-TV of Detroit on Monday evening, the Oxford Center said, “After cooperating with multiple investigations starting immediately after the tragic accident in January, we are disappointed to see charges filed.”
The company said it was surprised by the charges because “the typical protocol after a fire-related accident has not yet been completed” and because there are “outstanding questions” about how the incident occurred.
Thomas’ parents have not spoken publicly since their son, died and they declined to comment Monday on the arrests. Their attorney has told NBC News that Thomas’ parents had taken him to receive multiple sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for sleep apnea and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder at the Oxford Center and that his mom, Annie Cooper, was burned on her arm when she rushed over to the chamber to try to save her son after the fire broke out.
Harrington said the family plans to file a lawsuit even after Monday’s criminal charges and added that he was “not surprised” by the arrests.
“This is a very, very egregious case,” Harrington said in a phone interview.
Vitale told NBC News last month that the Oxford Center had been cooperating with the investigation.
“The safety and wellbeing of the children we serve is our highest priority. We are participating in the investigations that are still taking place to determine how this happened,” he said in an emailed statement on Feb. 19.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which involves delivering 100% oxygen in a pressurized, tubelike chamber, is cleared by the Food and Drug Administration to treat a handful of conditions, including carbon monoxide poisoning, certain wounds and burns and decompression sickness in scuba divers.
The FDA regulates certain hyperbaric chambers that meet its definition of Class II medical devices, which are “intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease.”
In recent years, unaccredited facilities such as spas and wellness centers have started promoting hyperbaric oxygen therapy for various health problems.
The Oxford Center, which has two locations in Michigan, says it treats more than 100 conditions, including autism, Alzheimer’s, dyslexia and cancer. The FDA does not recognize hyperbaric oxygen therapy for those conditions.
Thomas’ parents, who live in Royal Oak, Michigan, are doing “absolutely horrible” since their son died, Harrington said Monday.
“Under no circumstances should this happen,” he said.
