Stoically and straight-faced, Jeffrey Mosteller accepted his prison sentence Monday, Aug. 31, in Oakland County Circuit Court, acknowledging through his attorney that he made a "horrific mistake" which led to the fiery death of a5-year-old Royal Oak boyinside a hyperbaric oxygen chamber.
Thomas Cooper was burned alive Jan. 31, 2025, at the Oxford Center in Troy, when police said a single spark lit a fireball that erupted in seconds, killing Thomas and burning the hands and arms of his mother, who desperately tried to free him from the scorching chamber. The child, police said in previous testimony, was not wearing a safety grounding wrist strap that could have prevented the static spark that lit the flames.
Mosteller, 66, of Clinton Township,
was the center's safety director and will serve 19 months to 15 years in prison as part of a plea agreement. State Attorney General Dana Nessel's office dropped a second-degree murder charge in exchange for a no-contest plea to involuntary manslaughter.
"I don't understand the reasoning behind Mr. Mosteller ignoring national fire code, ignoring the Sechrist [manufacturer's operating] manual, and ignoring his own training," said Oakland County Circuit Judge Kwamé L. Rowe.
"This is arrogance. This is 'I think I know better than the national fire code. I think I know better than the Sechrist manual. I think I know better than my own training and experience.' ... As the safety director, the person in charge of everyone's safety ... it was incumbent on you to say ... 'These grounding straps are needed.'
"If those grounding safety straps were used, young Mr. Cooper would not have burned alive inside a hyperbaric chamber."
Mosteller is the first of four Oxford Center employees criminally charged in Thomas' death.
Tamela Peterson, 59, of Brighton, the Oxford Center's CEO, and Gary Marken, 67, of Spring Arbor, the center's operations manager, face charges of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. Aleta Harward Moffitt, 61, of Rochester Hills, who operated the chamber Thomas used when he died, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and intentionally placing false information on a medical record.
Rowe acknowledged that he doesn't believe Mosteller intended to kill Thomas, but that "he created a situation in which death was the likely and probable and foreseeable result."
The sentence, Rowe said, should serve as a reminder to all of the importance of adhering to safety guidelines when using hyperbaric chambers.
"At the end of the day," he said, "Mr. Mosteller has to be punished for his actions here. ... The defendant's actions caused a 5-year-old to burn alive ... the most serious of offenses because there is a loss of life."
Mosteller didn't give a statement in court Monday because he still awaits trial in a related civil lawsuit brought by Thomas' family against the Oxford Center and Sechrist Industries, said his attorney, Alona Sharon.
She said she reviewed all of the video recordings that captured more than 30 of Thomas' hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatments at the center. More than once, she said, her client administered them.
"Jeff had a wonderful rapport with Thomas," Sharon said. "He cared for him a great deal. You could tell that Thomas was always excited to see Jeff and vice-versa. So, Mr. Mosteller is not a violent man and he is not a malicious man. He is 66 years old, standing before this court with no criminal history.
"But he is, your honor, someone who made a horrific mistake in this case that caused a tremendous loss for this family. He understands the devastating nature of what happened and of his mistake and lapse in judgment, your honor.
"I don't think for one minute, that Jeff thought he was putting Thomas' life in danger. I think after working at the Oxford Center for so long and there not being any incidents without these grounding bracelets, he ... thought that what they were doing and how they were conducting themselves was in a safe manner and now we know that is not true and a family has to pay the price for that."
Thomas' family did not appear in court Monday.
"Thomas' family is simply not in a place where they can be here and participate in this proceeding and I think we all understand why," said Assistant State Attorney General Christopher Kessel. "But, while they are not here, I am.
"So, I will say this: There seems to be an incredible number of people who take pride in and seem to the enjoy the idea of 'knowing better than,' right? Knowing better than doctors and scientists and engineers and safety experts — people who have dedicated their entire careers and their lives to nothing more than making sure people are safe. And specifically in this case, making sure hyperbaric oxygen treatment can be administered safely.
"The whole hyperbaric universe has come to the conclusion that grounding straps are a necessary precaution to make sure that hyperbaric oxygen treatment can be administered safely. ... Despite ... all of that collective knowledge, this case is about the real-world consequences of when someone decides they know better than.
"The real-world consequence of that was that a 5-year-old boy whose life hadn't even started yet burned alive as his mother watched. It is a horrendous, horrendous way to go, and Thomas is obviously not the only victim in this case."
Contact Kristen Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com. Subscribe to the Detroit Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Safety director sentenced in Thomas Cooper's hyperbaric chamber death
