OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – The CEO of an Oakland County health care center, where a 5-year-old boy died in a hyperbaric chamber explosion, is being accused of violating her bond condition that prohibits her from possessing weapons.
Tamela Peterson, 58, of Brighton, appeared before Judge Maureen McGinnis in 52-4 District Court for a motion hearing on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (You can watch the full hearing in the video at the top of this article.)
The CEO had filed a motion asking for the home confinement aspect of her bond conditions to be removed, but new allegations came to light before the hearing, so her attorney, Gerald Gleeson, asked to withdraw the motion, pending the outcome of her preliminary examination.
Assistant Attorney General Chris Kessel told the judge that between last week and this week, the prosecution learned that Peterson has allegedly violated her bond conditions.
“The People believe the defendant has violated her bond, specifically with respect to the possession of firearms condition,” Kessel said.
“That, going along with a number of other violations that this court is aware have taken place, gives the People real concern about this defendant’s ability to continue to stay out on bond, in any capacity,” Kessel told the judge.
Kessel said there is “room for argument” about when she stopped violating this bond condition, but said it “seems for sure” that it was happening from when she was arraigned in March until early June.
The assistant attorney general said he learned about the allegations while he was drafting a response to Peterson’s original motion, and provided Gleeson with the information before the hearing began on Thursday.
Gleeson said he wasn’t prepared to contest the allegations, entered a not guilty plea and requested a bond hearing. He also asked the judge if Peterson could still be allowed to remain outside of jail, pending the hearing.
No other details about the allegations were revealed during this hearing.
“Obviously, Ms. Peterson, any time there’s an allegation that you are not compliant with a bond condition, the potential outcome for you could be a modification or revocation of your bond, which is obviously a very significant sanction,” McGinnis said.
The judge said these allegations are serious and that she’s going back to the stricter bond conditions Peterson originally had, until they resolve this issue.
During the CEO’s last hearing, the judge had eased the home confinement restriction, allowing Peterson to go to the Oxford Center’s Brighton location to help package items, sign documents and facilitate the sale of the building to the new owner.
Within the terms of the original home confinement conditions, Peterson can only leave the house for medical appointments, court hearings and meetings with her attorney.
All of her other bond conditions remain in effect as well, which include having no contact with the family of the victim or her codefendants, not returning to either Oxford Center location and not participating in hyperbaric chamber treatment at any facility.
The bond conditions also include wearing a GPS tether, surrendering her passport and not possessing any weapons.
A date for the hearing has not been set, but the judge said it will happen right before or after the preliminary examination date that is set for Sept. 15.
Peterson and three other workers were charged after Thomas Cooper was killed when the hyperbaric chamber in which he was receiving treatment in exploded at the Oxford Center in Troy on Jan. 31, 2025.
Peterson, along with Mosteller, the safety manager, and Marken, the primary management assistant, is charged with second-degree murder. They were also given the alternative charge of involuntary manslaughter, which means that a jury will decide which charge accurately fits their conduct.
Moffitt, who was allegedly operating the hyperbaric chamber at the time of the explosion, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and falsifying medical records.