Brit found dead after being 'brainwashed' by New Age gurus on Bali spiritual retreat

Josephine Tabor, 30, had attended a retreat in Bali, Indonesia, for three weeks in the month before she was found dead in a Turkish hotel room on December 30, 2021

Mirror/November 13, 2024

By Mario Laghos and Chiara Fiorillo

A British businesswoman was found dead after being "brainwashed" by New Age gurus on a spiritual retreat in Bali, an inquest heard.

Josephine Tabor, 30, had spent two and a half years travelling the world in the lead up to her death, including visiting the Indonesian province for a spiritual getaway. Ms Tabor's family told the court they believe she was influenced by cult-like groups after they found diary entries in which she described being administered "truth serum."

The 30-year-old had taken up an interest in spiritualism after meeting her then boyfriend from America, who was "heavily interested" in star signs, tarot readings, retreats and other new age practices. And in a final tragic diary entry, Ms Tabor wrote: "I have tried everything except suicide. It is my final roll of the dice."

In statements submitted to Taunton Coroner's Court, her family said: "These retreats claimed to offer answers, they have thousands of followers, this does not make them qualified or altruistic. We know an inquest cannot apportion blame however there is a cult-like side to many of these retreats.

"When a vulnerable person is told a higher force can help them and that the universe is looking out for them, not friends and family, they have no one to turn to as they have been brainwashed that the answers do not lie here but in another universe." Ms Tabor's parents, farmers James and Elizabeth, said "the family were united" in the belief that vulnerable Josephine had been victimised in these retreats and that she recounted the experiences in her diaries.

They said she had attended a retreat in Bali for three weeks in the month prior to her death in December 2021 and added they felt their daughter attended a further retreat in Turkey, but could not be sure. She was found dead in a Turkish hotel room having died by suicide on December 30, 2021.

Although Ms Tabor's family said they had been concerned for years that "she was caught up in a spiritual world" they did not want to criticise her lifestyle. The court heard how Ms Tabor was an "independent and able woman" who ran a successful online marketing and branding business with a large following, including more than 15,000 followers on social media.

She had a degree in psychology from Cardiff University and was also a qualified yoga teacher with a social media page dedicated to her teaching. Her family told the court Ms Tabor had no apparent life stresses they were aware of, was not short of money and had no dependents.

Evidence from Ms Tabor's GP, in her home of Yeovil, Somerset, was that she had no known mental health issues and there were no physical health issues which could have contributed to her suicide. An investigation by the Turkish authorities found no evidence of alcohol or drug use.

Excerpts from Ms Tabor's journals were read out in court, where she wrote about the Hindu goddess of death and destruction, and said "I have done all the inner work possible and I am being called toward a true calling." Assistant Coroner Steve Cavell said the books contained a "pseudo mystic religious theme throughout", that it made mention of past lives and "talked of suicide as a freedom."

In a tragic final journal entry Ms Tabor wrote that "I have tried everything except suicide. It is my final roll of the dice." Ms Tabor was found dead by a hotel cleaner on the morning of December 30, 2021, in the Atik Hotel in Istanbul just days before she was set to return to the UK to visit her sister who had just given birth.

Family members said when they spoke to Ms Tabor on December 18 there was no cause for concern and she had even promised to bring back Turkish Delight. Mr Cavell said Ms Tabor had "developed an interest in the spiritual world. Her journals contained references to what appeared to be Hindu and Buddhist themes, concepts of birth and rebirth, finding oneself, fulfilment and leaving the past behind.

"Her family feels she went on one or more retreats which may have affected her but I make no findings on this as I don't have the evidence to do that and is outside the scope of the inquest. Toward end of her life the journals darken in tone there is a suggestion she became disillusioned with her relationships and how she felt she had been mistreated and that she had been na ve to look for the goodness in people.

"I find that not only did she intend on taking the action she did but that the action was aimed at bringing her life to an end. That is supported from the entries in her final notebook where she clearly indicates that she is contemplating taking her own life.

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