Safety manager of center where boy died in hyperbaric oxygen chamber sentenced to prison

A man has been sentenced to more than a year in prison in connection with the death of a 5-year-old boy who was killed in a fiery explosion inside a hyperbaric oxygen chamber last year.

Jeffrey Mosteller, 66, pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter in Oakland County circuit court in Michigan on Monday.

Mosteller will serve 19 months in prison, avoiding the maximum penalty of 15 years behind bars. He was the safety manager at the Oxford Center, an alternative healthcare center that treats children with various health conditions — including autism, ADHD and autoimmune diseases — through hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Thomas Cooper, of Detroit suburb Royal Oak, died while undergoing treatment at the center in January 2025 after the hyperbaric chamber caught fire from the inside and exploded.

His family’s attorney, James Harrington, previously told NBC News that the boy was going to the Oxford Center to treat sleep apnea and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Harrington also told NBC News that the boy’s mother rushed toward the chamber when the fire ignited, burning her arm in an unsuccessful attempt to save her son. The boy was burned alive in front of her, the lawyer said,

Prosecutors have accused the center of…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/health