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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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Third Sweat-Lodge Victim Dies

Minnesota woman was longtime follower of self-help guru

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(AP) – A Minnesota woman became the third fatality yesterday in an Arizona sweat lodge ceremony that hospitalized nearly two dozen people. Liz Neuman, 49, died at a Flagstaff hospital after suffering multiple organ damage during the Oct. 8 ceremony at a resort near Sedona. Authorities were treating all three deaths as homicides, but no charges have been filed.

Neuman was among more than 50 people crowded inside the sweat lodge run by self-help guru James Arthur Ray that ended with 21 people being hospitalized with illnesses ranging from dehydration to kidney failure. Authorities haven't determined what caused the deaths. One of Ray's longtime followers said Neuman was among Ray's earliest followers and had attended dozens of his events. Participants paid between $9,000 and $10,000 to attend Ray's five-day "Spiritual Warrior" event.

This Sept. 2007 picture picture provided by Rev. Meredith Ann Murray shows her with James Arthur Ray at the Spiritual Warrior Course at Angel Valley Retreat Center in Sedona, Ariz.
This Sept. 2007 picture picture provided by Rev. Meredith Ann Murray shows her with James Arthur Ray at the Spiritual Warrior Course at Angel Valley Retreat Center in Sedona, Ariz.   ((AP Photo/Courtesy of Meredith Ann Murray))
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.
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.   (Ross D. Franklin)
The Angel Valley Retreat Center in Sedona, Ariz.. A third victim has died in an Oct. 8 sweat lodge ceremony gone awry.
The Angel Valley Retreat Center in Sedona, Ariz.. A third victim has died in an Oct. 8 sweat lodge ceremony gone awry.   (Ross D. Franklin)
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22 comments
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drlarrymitchell
Oct 18, 09 6:21 AM CDT
"Participants paid between $9,000 and $10,000 to attend Ray's five-day "Spiritual Warrior" event"? I could have iced these mouth-breathers for 1/10th that amount Reply
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0
IN RESPONSE:
Pragmaticrealism
Oct 18, 09 3:59 PM CDT
Are you emotionally numb? Or trying to be funny?
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0
IN RESPONSE:
drlarrymitchell
Oct 18, 09 6:59 PM CDT
A little of both. These people were overly-eager to trust this James Arthur Ray character, and I was trying to save them some of the money they spent in pursuing their demise.
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+3
riffran
Oct 18, 09 6:39 AM CDT
during the summer months...we get a lot of football kids, and or people who work outside and don't hydrate well, in the ER....One of the things we test for (if they are really symptomatic) is Rhabdomyolysis..or rabdo for short....That is when there is damage to the muscles from overheating or dehydration, (or in crush injuries also, to name a few ) that they release muscle breakdown byproducts into the blood, and can royally FUBAR you're kidneys, and other complications can occur..I wonder if that is what got this latest one? It sure seems to fit the description Reply
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+12
IN RESPONSE:
JoeQ
Oct 18, 09 11:17 AM CDT
Interesting fact. Thanks.
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+2

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