Sweat Lodge Deaths Treated as Homicide

A pair of deaths in a Sedona-area sweat lodge last week are being treated as homicides, Yavapai County Sheriff Steve Waugh announced Thursday. The deaths of Kirby Anne Brown, of New York, and James Scott Shore, of Wisconsin, occurred during a cleansing session in Oprah-approved self-help guru James Arthur Ray’s event at the Angel Valley Retreat Center. About 20 sweat lodge users were hospitalized after a crowd of 60, all crammed into the sweat lodge, mysteriously fell ill. The participants were partaking in a multiday health and mindfulness retreat. There is still no explanation for why so many fell ill during the Arizona ceremony.