CAMP VERDE, Ariz. — Jurors deciding whether a self-help author is criminally responsible for the deaths of three people following a sweat lodge ceremony return Wednesday after a weeklong break in the trial.

Judge Warren Darrow granted a defense request for a continuance last week while new evidence was sought.

James Arthur Ray has pleaded not guilty to three counts of manslaughter stemming from the October 2009 ceremony near Sedona.

His attorneys used the break to interview an environmental scientist who pointed to the construction of the sweat lodge, and the humidity and length of time victims spent inside the sweltering structure as factors in the deaths.

Debbie Mercer is scheduled to resume testimony. She and her husband helped tend to the fire used to heat the rocks placed inside the sweat lodge.