Sweat Lodge Deaths

Police are investigating self-help guru James Arthur Ray, pictured here, in their investigation of a sweat lodge ceremony that left three dead and many ill at the Angel Valley Retreat Center in Sedona, Ariz., on Oct. 8, 2009.

james ray sweat lodge deaths kirby brown — family photo

This April 2008 photo provided by the family of Kirby Brown shows the 38-year-old woman from Westtown, N.Y. Brown was one of three people who died after being overcome in an Oct. 8, 2009 sauna-like sweat lodge during a retreat just outside of Sedona, Ariz.

Emergency crews swarmed the Sedona, Ariz. sweat lodge after dozens fell ill and three died after the Oct. 8, 2009 tragedy.

SLIDESHOW sweat lodge deaths — The Daily Courier, Les Stukenberg

Yavapai County Sheriff's Office Lt. David Rhodes and Sheriff Steve Waugh answer questions from the media during a news conference on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009 in Prescott, Ariz. The deaths of three people during a sweat lodge ceremony led by self-help expert James Arthur Ray are being investigated as homicides, authorities said.

This undated photo provided by the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office shows a "sweatbox" structure at Angel Valley resort in Sedona, Ariz. Three people died and an estimated 18 others were taken to hospitals Thursday Oct. 8, 2009, after being overcome while sitting in the sauna-like sweat lodge, authorities said.

This family photo shows Liz Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake, Minn., who suffered multiple organ damage and was in a coma before she died Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009 at a Flagstaff hospital. She was among dozens crowded into the sweat lodge on Oct. 8 at a resort just outside Sedona, a town 115 miles north of Phoenix that draws many in the New Age spiritual movement.

Police are treating the sweat lodge deaths as homicides but have yet to determine the cause. James Arthur Ray, shown here, has hired his own investigators to determine what went wrong and vowed to continue his work despite criticism. "I have taken heat for that decision, but if I choose to lock myself in my home, I am sure I would be criticized for hiding and not practicing what I preach," he wrote on his blog.

Yavapai County Sheriff's Office Lt. David Rhodes answers follow-up questions with the media after a news conference Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009 in Prescott, Ariz. The deaths of three people during a sweat lodge ceremony led by self-help expert James Arthur Ray are being investigated as homicides, authorities said.

Tom McFeeley, the cousin of sweat lodge victim Kirby Brown, chokes up at the 38-year-old painter's funeral in Otisville, N.Y., on Oct. 17, 2009.

This Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009 picture shows the road leading to the Angel Valley Retreat Center in Sedona, Ariz. Three people died and 18 others were injured during an Oct. 8 ceremony at a sweat lodge at the retreat. Sweat lodges are commonly used by American Indian tribes to cleanse the body and prepare for hunts and ceremonies.

Dr. Beverley Bunn, an orthodontist from Texas, was one of the participants at the retreat and sweat lodge victim Kirby Brown's roommate at the resort. Bunn tears up in an Oct. 23, 2009 interview with "The Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith, while telling him that Ray had "abandoned" them, refusing to let anyone leave the sweat lodge while the door was closed.

The Angel Valley Retreat Center in Sedona, Ariz. is photographed Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009. Three people died and dozens others were injured last Thursday during a ceremony at a sweat lodge, its remains partially seen at bottom left, at the retreat.

Police are investigating self-help guru James Arthur Ray, pictured here, in their investigation of a sweat lodge ceremony that left three dead and many injured at the Angel Valley Retreat Center in Sedona, Ariz., on Oct. 8, 2009.

This photo provided by the family of Kirby Brown shows the 38-year-old woman from Westtown, N.Y. Brown was one of three people who died after being overcome in an Oct. 8, 2009 sauna-like sweat lodge during a retreat just outside of Sedona, Ariz.

Lily Niewolny, of Angels of Enlightenment, talks in her establishment in Sedona, Ariz., on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009, about the Oct. 8 deaths at a sweat lodge ceremony at the Angel Valley Retreat Center. Three people died and others were injured during a ceremony at a sweat lodge at the retreat.

Yavapai County Sheriff Steve Waugh speaks during a news conference in Prescott, Ariz., on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. The deaths of three people resulting from an Oct. 8 sweat lodge ceremony led by self-help expert James Arthur Ray are being investigated as homicides, authorities said.

Yavapai County Sheriff's Office Lt. David Rhodes speaks with the media after a news conference Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009, in Prescott, Ariz. The deaths of three people resulting from an Oct. 8 sweat lodge ceremony led by self-help expert James Arthur Ray are being investigated as homicides, authorities said.

This photo provided by the family of Kirby Brown shows the 38-year-old woman from Westtown, N.Y. Brown was one of three people who died after being overcome in a sauna-like sweat lodge during a retreat just outside of Sedona, Ariz.

A former co-worker of James Arthur Ray said he noticed the self-help guru become more narcissistic after an appearance on Oprah Winfrey's show. "I saw an ego just blow up," Mickey Reynolds, a former associate of Ray's, shown here, told CBS' "The Early Show" on Oct. 26, 2009.

A view of the Angel Valley Retreat Center Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009, in Sedona, Ariz., where a heart-shaped stone memorial is set up on the site of a sweat lodge tragedy. Three people died and many others were injured Oct. 8 during a ceremony at a sweat lodge at the retreat.