Witness Testifies For 2nd Day In Sweat Lodge Case
CAMP VERDE, Ariz. (AP) -- The medical records of a woman who took part in a sweat lodge ceremony that turned deadly show that she did not suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning.
The records of witness Melissa Phillips presented by prosecutors Thursday dispute a suggestion by the defense that carbon monoxide could have contributed to the deaths of three people.
Defense attorney Luis Li had said in opening statements that carbon monoxide was among a number of possibilities for the deaths that prosecutors ignored.
James Arthur Ray has pleaded not guilty to three counts of manslaughter stemming from the October 2009 ceremony he led near Sedona.
Phillips was treated at a local hospital for nausea and heat exhaustion following the two-hour ceremony. She's the first of dozens of witnesses expected to testify in the case.
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