Trial begins for trio accused of killing woman during spa treatment

Thirty-five-year-old Chantal Lavigne died in 2011 after undergoing what’s called sweat therapy at a spa near Drummondville.

The criminal trial has begun for three people accused of killing a woman during a spa treatment.

Gabrielle Frechette and two associates, Ginette Duclos and Gerald Fontaine, are accused of criminal negligence causing the death of Chantal Lavigne and criminal negligence causing injury to another person.

The trial, before a judge alone, began Tuesday in the Drummondville courthouse.

Several members of Lavigne's family, including her husband Patrick Naud, were present for Tuesday's opening remarks.

Lavigne, 35, died in 2011 after undergoing sweat therapy, where her body was wrapped in mud and plastic sheets for hours to induce intense perspiration.

A coroner ruled that Lavigne baked to death at the Reine de la paix farmhouse spa in South Durham, Quebec, about 100 km southeast of Montreal.

Another person was hospitalized at the same time but managed to survive.

The accused were arrested a year after Lavigne's death and have been free on bail since 2012, but were ordered not to perform any more treatments while awaiting trial.

The trial is expected to last seven days.

With a file from The Canadian Press