The self-help guru held responsible for a 2009 tragedy in Sedona, James Arthur Ray, died on Friday.
According to a message on social media platform X written by a family member and posted to Ray’s official account, Ray died “suddenly and unexpectedly” on the night of Friday, Jan. 3. His cause of death was unclear as of Sunday morning.
In 2011, Ray was convicted on three counts of negligent homicide for the deaths of Kirby Brown, 38; James Shore, 40; and Liz Neuman, 49. He served just under two years in prison.
Ray hosted a five-day “Spiritual Warrior” retreat at the Angel Valley resort near Sedona in October 2009. He created a makeshift sweat lodge using a wood-framed shelter covered with tarps and blankets and raised the temperature.
Many of the 50 participants became ill or disoriented. Two of the guests, Kirby Brown and James Shore, died of heatstroke in the sweat lodge. Liz Neuman was taken to a Flagstaff hospital where she died just nine days after the trip.
“My brother was trying to quit smoking — he (went on the retreat) to quit smoking,” said Virginia Shore, sister of James Shore, in a 2017 interview with reporters outside of Yavapai Superior Court. “It was a surprise ending, to give them this sweat lodge. None of them were prepared, they were all compromised, they had all been fasting and they were all dehydrated … James Arthur Ray knew what state they were in. He knew they were fragile. He knew they were vulnerable.”
In the years following their daughter’s death, Kirby Brown’s parents, George and Ginny Brown, founded a non-profit organization designed to regulate the self-help industry.
Kirby’s family released a statement following Ray’s death through their nonprofit, SEEK Safely, that read in part, “Knowing, as we do, the particular pain of unexpected loss, we extend our condolences to Ray’s family and loved ones.”
James Arthur Ray was 67.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Man convicted of negligent homicide of 3 people has died
Read the full article here
