UPDATE: Third Person Dies in Sedona Sweat Lodge Fiasco

More than a week after a sweat lodge "spiritual warrior" self-help retreat took the lives of two people, the sweat tent has claimed another victim. A Minnesota woman, 49-year-old Liz Neuman, died Saturday after more than a week in a coma. Authorities say Neuman suffered multiple organ damage before dying...

By James King

October 19, 2009

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More than a week after a sweat lodge "spiritual warrior" self-help retreat took the lives of two people, the sweat tent has claimed another victim.

A Minnesota woman, 49-year-old Liz Neuman, died Saturday after more than a week in a coma.

Authorities say Neuman suffered multiple organ damage before dying in a Flagstaff hospital.

Neuman was one of nearly 60 people to follow "self-help" guru James Arthur Ray into a hot, poorly ventilated sweat tent as part of a cleansing ceremony near Sedona.

The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office said last week that the deaths were being investigated as homicides, with Ray as the focal point of the investigation.

After the first two deaths, Ray didn't talk with police and skipped town for California, where he's continued to offer his "self-help" services. In a speech last week in Southern California, he said,"We're looking for answers. I'm as frustrated and confused as other people are."

Any answers Mr. Ray may be looking for are more than likely back in Sedona, not Southern California. Maybe when he's done "looking for answers" in SoCal, he can help O.J. find "the real killers."

James King

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