Heartwrenching Testimony During Ray Sentencing Phase

Updated: Tuesday, 28 Jun 2011, 5:43 PM MST
Published : Tuesday, 28 Jun 2011, 5:42 PM MST

CAMP VERDE, Ariz. - They lost a daughter, husband and mother in an Arizona sweat lodge ceremony.

On Tuesday, Ginny Brown, Alyssa Gillespie and Andrea Puckett had a chance to tell a jury how the deaths of their family members have impacted them emotionally.

"He was an amazing father," Alyssa Anne Gillespie testified through sobs. She is James Shore's widow.

"There's so many things anybody can say about James, but one of the things about James is that he was an incredible incredible father."

She continued, "The wailing, the sounds... the sounds that come out of a very small child... there's no way to tell your kids that their dad is dead. I just had to do it, I just had to say their dad is dead."

"I was horrified, horrified," said Virginia Brown, Kirby Brown's mother. "Kirby was a great adventurer, but she was very conscious of safety."

Brown told jurors that she blames Ray for her daughters death. Family members of all the victims say none of Ray's staff came to the hospital to help ID them.

Jurors will consider their testimony in determining whether aggravating factors figure into James Arthur Ray's sentence. Ray was convicted last week on three counts of negligent homicide.

Kirby Brown, James Shore and Liz Neuman died following the October 2009 ceremony Ray led near Sedona. He faces more than 11 years in prison.

Attorneys in the case settled on a trio of aggravating factors for the jury to consider Tuesday, including emotional harm to the victims' families.

A finding of aggravating factors could increase Ray's sentence. Probation also is an option.

Testimony will continue Wednesday morning and a decision could come during the day.

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Heartwrenching Testimony During Ray Sentencing Phase

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