4 Arrested Over Death of 5-Year-Old Boy in Hyperbaric Chamber Explosion

Mar. 15, 2025

Four people have been arrested after a5-year-old boy died inside a hyperbaric chamberin Michigan, police confirmed to PEOPLE.

On Monday, March 10, the four were taken into custody following the Jan. 31 explosion, Troy Police Department shared via email. The arraignment is set to take place on Tuesday, March 11, police added.

PerNBC News, the founder and CEO of the alternative medicine facility, Tamela Peterson, was among those arrested. Peterson and two others have been charged with second-degree murder, while a fourth person is facing charges of involuntary manslaughter and intentionally placing false information in medical records, the outlet stated, citing court documents.

Police haven’t released the names of those arrested, but court records showed Peterson was one of them,WWJreported. NBC News reported that Gerald Gleeson II is representing Peterson but declined to comment on her arrest on Monday.

Thomas Cooper.GoFundMe

GoFundMe

The victim’s family’s attorney, James Harrington, toldNBC Newslast month that thefamily was “absolutely devastated”in the wake of Thomas’s death and planned to file a lawsuit “to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”

Harrington told the outlet that Thomas’s parents decided to take him to The Oxford Center to receive treatment in a hyperbaric chamber for sleep apnea and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Thomas Cooper.gofundme

gofundme

Harrington told NBC News last month that Thomas’ mother, Annie Cooper, had attempted to “rescue” her child “out of the burning flames” when a fire broke out in the chamber, leading to “significant burns on her arm.”

The Troy Fire Department previously said in a statement onFacebookthat they had responded to a report of a “hyperbaric chamber explosion with a child inside,” and when they arrived on the scene, they found the 5-year-old, from Royal Oak, dead.

“A hyperbaric chamber contains 100 percent oxygen, which is up to three times the amount of oxygen than a normal room," the post stated. “The presence of such a high amount of oxygen in a pressurized environment can make it extremely combustible."

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“The timing of these charges is surprising, as the typical protocol after a fire-related accident has not yet been completed. There are still outstanding questions about how this occurred. Yet, the Attorney General’s office proceeded to pursue charges without those answers,” they added.

“Our highest priority every day is the safety and wellbeing of the children and families we serve, which continues during this process,” the center concluded, per the outlet.

AGoFundMeset up to support Thomas’s family following his death had raised more than $67,000 as of Tuesday, March 11.

source: people.com