Christie McNally and her husband Ian Thorson wanted a Zen life. That's why they joined a silent retreat that was supposed to consist of three years, three months and three days meditating in the Arizona desert. But less than half way through the retreat, both McNally and Thorson were asked to leave. Then weeks later, 38-year-old Thorson was dead.
There are plenty of questions following the mysterious April death, especially after it was revealed the couple made the fatal decision to escape to a mountain, and stay there in the middle of winter. The coroner's report says Thorson died on that mountain of dehydration and starvation.
Thorson's mother doesn't blame her son or his wife for his death. Instead she's angry with the controversial monk, Michael Roach, who she accuses of running a cult.
The story gets even stranger after the revelation Ms. McNally co-founded the retreat center known as Diamond Mountain University with Roach. Plus, she and Roach were "spiritual partners." They had been secretly married in 1998 and divorced about two years later, just before she married Thorson.
So, what led to McNally and Thorson being booted from the retreat? And what are McNally and Roach doing now? CNN's Miguel Marquez has all the strange twists and turns in this story tonight.