A self-help teacher convicted of manslaughter in the deaths of three people at a Sedona sweat lodge 15 years ago has died.

James Arthur Ray’s family announced his death on his own personal X account. He did not provide details on the cause of death, only saying that the 67-year-old man died suddenly and unexpectedly.

Ray was convicted of negligent homicide after the October 2009 deaths of three people who attended a Spiritual Warrior retreat at a Sedona resort.

Ray served just two years in prison following his 2011 conviction, and later appeared on Piers Morgan’s CNN show, explaining how people showing signs of distress in sweat lodges are actually in danger. He professed that he did not know.

“What I realized is that a lot of people have challenges, the same challenges you see in marathons and other physical activities. If I had known, I wish I had known,” Ray said. spoke.

Ray described himself on social media as a pastor and philosopher.

Until his death, he co-hosted a podcast with his wife and shared advice through social media.

“His passion in life was always to make the lives of others better and more fulfilling,” Ray’s brother, John Ray, wrote. “I’m happy to say he’s accomplished it thousands of times.”

Stephanie Wheatley, a spokeswoman for Clark County, Nevada, where Ray lived, said the county had received a report of the death of a man matching Ray’s name and age.

Ray’s previous business teaching people about emotional and financial help was boosted by an appearance in the 2006 Rhonda Byrne documentary “The Secret” and appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “Larry… It was advertised on “King Live”.

The sweat lodge deaths occurred after dozens of people traveled to the scenic retreat outside Sedona in October 2009 for Ray’s five-day “Spiritual Warrior” event. The Sweat Lodge was the culminating event, billed as “ridiculously hot” and a chance for participants to make strong progress.

Two people, Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, New York, and James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee, died inside the sweat lodge, and 18 others were injured. Another person, Liz Newman, 49, of Prior Lake, Minn., fell into a coma and died after being hospitalized for more than a week.

At the trial, prosecutor Ray said he gradually increased the heat to dangerous levels, ignored pleas for help, and watched as overcome participants were dragged out of the sweat lodge.

The jury acquitted Ray of the more serious charge of manslaughter and found him guilty of three counts of manslaughter, for which he was sentenced to death concurrently. he was It was released in July 2013.

Ray admitted he was responsible for the deaths, but made no excuses for not taking action when the chaos erupted at the sweat lodge.

After leaving prison, Ray continued to be active in the field of self-help. He frequently posted videos of himself and his wife, Bersabe Ray, on social media offering advice. The couple also hosted a podcast, “Modern Alchemy,” and ran a website where Ray offered one-on-one video sessions of up to 90 minutes for $2,500.

After Brown’s death, her family founded Seek Safely, an organization that provides support to people vulnerable to exploitation by the self-help industry. In a statement posted on the group’s website, Brown’s sister Jean expressed her condolences and said that Ray was “built on the exploitation of people seeking to improve their lives and find fulfillment.” He is just one of many owners of a multibillion-dollar-a-year industry.

“All we can do at this point is to remind seekers that there is no larger than life, no infallible ‘guru,’ program, or way of thinking. That the journey of self-improvement is both noble and vulnerable. “It means that we must remain in charge of a process of growth and change that is rooted in our values, values, and right to freedom from harm,” she wrote.