The Oxford Center’s safety and training director, who is out of jail on bond after being charged in the death of a 5-year-old boy in a hyperbaric chamber fire, will be allowed to leave the confinement of his home to report to work.
Jeffrey Alan Mosteller, 64, of Clinton Township, got a new, full-time job, said his attorney, Alona Sharon, at a July 17 hearing before Judge Maureen McGinnis in district court in Troy.
Jeffrey Alan Mosteller, 64, of Clinton Township, listens as attorneys speak as he is arraigned with three others in front of Judge Elizabeth Chiappelli at the Oakland County 52-4 District Court in Troy on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in a 5-year-old child’s hyperbaric chamber death.
She asked McGinnis to modify the conditions of his bond to allow Mosteller to report to work without preapproval from the court each time, noting that Mosteller is in his mid-60s, is not a violent man and, prior to his arrest in the death of Thomas Cooper, of Royal Oak, had never been in trouble with the law before. Mosteller is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter.
“The court does not need to worry about him fleeing,” Sharon said, while Mosteller awaits a preliminary exam set for Sept. 15 and Sept. 16, when McGinnis will consider the evidence and determine whether his case should go to trial in Oakland County Circuit Court.
Mosteller was arrested in March in the death of Thomas Cooper, of Royal Oak, who was undergoing his 36th treatment in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber for ADHD and sleep apnea when it burst into flames Jan. 31 at the Oxford Center’s clinic in Troy.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, and posted a $50,000 bond.
Mosteller did not disclose where he is working, but told McGinnis that it’s less than 3 miles away from his home, and his work shifts are scheduled for 10 a.m-6 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays.
“I think it is appropriate to grant that motion that you are making,” McGinnis said, adding, however, that she would not remove the bond conditions altogether.
“The seriousness of these charges” don’t warrant that, she said, reminding Mosteller that he must remain in Michigan and avoid any contact with the other defendants in the case.
Thomas Cooper, age 5, died at The Oxford Center in Troy after a hyperbaric chamber he was in exploded.
Sharon said the six-month gap between when Mosteller was charged in the criminal case and his preliminary exam is longer than what is typical because there also are pending civil charges in his case.
“There had to be another investigation on the (hyperbaric) chamber and that was only concluded … a couple of weeks ago,” Sharon told the Detroit Free Press after the hearing. “No one wants to proceed to the (preliminary) exam until we have reports from this investigation, so that’s what is really taking the time.
“I don’t want it to appear as if the delay is anyone’s fault. It’s just the natural process. … The logistics of everything has just taken a long time.”
State Attorney General Dana Nessel charged Mosteller in Thomas’ death, alleging he disregarded safety measures that could have prevented the fatal fire. She also brought criminal charges against the Oxford Center’s founder and CEO, Tamela Peterson, 58, of Brighton, along with two other employees, Gary Marken, 66, of Spring Arbor, and Aleta Harward Moffitt, 60, of Rochester Hills.
Peterson, Marken and Moffitt also pleaded not guilty and also posted bond.
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A Troy police investigation suggested Mosteller performed his own safety experiments at the Oxford Center, attempting to prove grounding straps — used to discharge static electricity to prevent sparks from forming inside hyperbaric chambers’ oxygen-rich, pressurized environment — were not necessary. They were not used in the chamber in which the boy died.
Yet, industry experts, safety manuals, and the Oxford Center’s own training materials all detail the importance of using grounding straps, Troy Police Detective Danielle Trigger said in testimony earlier this year, which was cited in court documents.
Mosteller couldn’t tell police the name of a single medical facility in his 41 years of hyperbaric chamber experience that did not use the grounding straps, Trigger said.
Nessel said a single spark ignited the flames that killed Thomas in what was described in court documents as “a fireball.”
Detroit Free Press staff writer Andrea May Sahouri contributed to this report.
Contact Kristen Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com. Subscribe to the Detroit Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Judge: Oxford Center safety director can leave home confinement to work