Lauren Levis, a 40-year-old American woman, died on August 5, 2024, at Soul Centro, an iboga retreat in Paquera, Puntarenas, Costa Rica, following participation in an iboga ceremony. VICE and Costa Rican news outlets reported that she experienced a medical emergency during the retreat. According to La Nación's December 2025 reporting, Costa Rican forensic authorities classified the death as due to natural causes. Her family has disputed aspects of the findings and the center's response. A direct causal relationship between iboga exposure and her death has not been established.
Lauren Levis had previously attended Soul Centro in 2023 and returned in August 2024 for another iboga retreat.
According to VICE's October 2024 investigation, which included interviews with her family and retreat attendees, Levis developed severe sweating, agitation, and dizziness during an overnight iboga ceremony on August 4. Witnesses described attempts to provide medical assistance, followed by an emergency in which CPR was performed and an ambulance was called. Levis died on August 5 at the retreat property.
Her family questioned whether the medical screening and emergency response were adequate. Soul Centro has disputed allegations of inadequate care and stated that a licensed medical doctor was present during the ceremony and emergency.
Costa Rica's Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) investigated the death under case number 24-000917-0069-PE. Local reporting in March 2025 confirmed that the OIJ had submitted its investigation report to prosecutors.
In December 2025, La Nación reported that the forensic investigation had classified Levis' death as resulting from natural causes. Her brother, Arthur Levis, disputed the conclusions and raised concerns about pre-existing cardiac and pulmonary conditions and the interpretation of her screening results. Soul Centro maintained that the medical assessments had been reviewed and that its response to the emergency was appropriate.
In a public statement updated November 28, 2025, Soul Centro stated that the authorities had closed the case on March 31, 2025, without filing charges. This procedural claim is attributed to the center; the underlying closure order has not been independently reviewed.
Although the death occurred following participation in an iboga ceremony, the publicly available reporting does not establish iboga toxicity or a treatment-induced cardiac arrhythmia as the confirmed cause of death. The forensic conclusion, the family's objections, and the center's response should remain clearly distinguished.
Investigation & Causality
Substance Reported
Iboga (plant preparation; exact composition not independently verified)
Exposure Context
Retreat ceremony
Official Manner / Classification
Natural causes, as reported by La Nacion
Ibogaine Causality
Not established
Investigation Authority
Organismo de Investigacion Judicial (OIJ), Costa Rica
Case Reference
24-000917-0069-PE
Investigation Outcome
Forensic findings reported as natural causes; center states case closed without charges. Family disputes the adequacy of the investigation.
Family Disputes Findings
Yes
Case Details
Location
Paquera, Puntarenas (Bahía Grande), Costa Rica
Nationality
American / United States
Cause of Death (as first reported)
Natural causes, according to the reported forensic conclusion; a cardiac event was described in early news reports, but iboga causation has not been established.