Self-Help Guru James Arthur Ray Arrested For Sweat Lodge Deaths
Feb. 3 2010, Published 11:40 a.m. ET
James Arthur Ray, the author of Harmonic Wealth: The Secret of Attracting the Life You Want, was arrested on manslaughter charges on Wednesday for the deaths of three people who passed away during a sweat lodge ceremony.
Ray was leadind a ceremony at the Angel Valley Retreat Center near Sedona, Arizona, during which participants Kirby Brown, James Shore and Liz Neuman died.
"Sheriff Waugh would like to thank the victim’s families for their patience while the Sheriff’s Office completed a thorough and comprehensive investigation," according to a statement by Yavapai County Sheriff Steve Waugh. "With the arrest of James Ray, Sheriff Waugh hopes the families of the three victims will now have some measure of closure to this tragedy."
Ray is being held on a $5 million bond and is awaiting transfer to the Camp Verde Detention Center.
"I, too, want to know what happened that caused this horrible tragedy," Ray said.
Ray charged $9,000 for the five-day retreat. Dubbed the "Spiritual Warrior," the experience was rigorous: people were expected to fast for 36 hours and were crammed into a 415-square foot, sauna-like hut.