DRUMMONDVILLE, Que. — Three Quebecers are going to prison for their role in the extreme-sweating death of a woman who was wrapped in mud and cellophane at a spa.
Chantal Lavigne was rushed to hospital in serious condition in July 2011 along with another woman who was suffering from serious vomiting at the farmhouse spa.
Gabrielle Frechette was sentenced today to three years behind bars, while Ginette Duclos and Gerald Fontaine were given two-year terms.
They were found guilty in December 2014 of criminal negligence causing death.
Frechette was considered a spiritual guide and organized the personal-growth seminar in Durham-Sud, while Duclos and Fontaine were her assistants.
During the fatal session, participants were plastered with mud, wrapped in a plastic sheet and a blanket and had their heads covered with cardboard boxes for nine hours. A coroner described the process as the equivalent of being cooked alive.