Overview
- More witnesses testified in Troy’s 52-4 District Court as prosecutors seek to bind over four Oxford Center employees in the death of 5-year-old Thomas Cooper.
- Deputy Fire Chief Shawn Hugg said investigators identified electrical components in the control panel and door speakers as the only potential ignition sources and concluded static from the system paneling sparked the fire.
- Under cross-examination, Hugg acknowledged he could not rule out fabric-to-fabric static as a possible cause.
- Troy Detective Danielle Trigger testified that recovered training documents directed staff to use grounding wrist straps and that the devices were available at the facility, and she said video showed the chamber catching fire during treatment.
- CEO Tamela Peterson, safety manager Jeffrey Mosteller, management assistant Gary Marken, and operator Aleta Moffitt face charges ranging from second-degree murder to involuntary manslaughter, with testimony set to resume on Dec. 16.