. >> hi, this is michael roach. >> reporter: but these two followers of roach, a married couple in happier days promoting their yoga book -- >> so, this is yen. >> reporter: they did not find enlightenment out in the desert. instead, as they and 39 other people hugged their families good-bye on this saturday morning in december 2010, and entered into a three-year silent meditation retreat, as seen in this video on the retreat website, what ian thorson and christie mcnally actually encountered was something entirely unexpected. a mysterious decent into the darkness that would change their lives forever. what was it like for you to watch your son get sucked up into this world? >> it was frightening. >> reporter: this story starts more than a decade ago, when ian, then a recent graduate of stanford, found his way into the orbit of the charismatic michael roach, a princeton graduate who had made millions in the diamond business and become a buddhist monk. right away, ian's mother and sister say they were suspicious. >> he always just seemed a little creepy to me. >> reporter: so, yo

thorson's family is crying foul about this controversial religious organization run by this man, michael roach, who made a fortune in the diamond trade. and then, became a buddhist month. as soon as ian got involved in roach's movement, his mother said, it was suspicious. >> he promised enlightenment. >> reporter: what is he asking for in return? >> total dedication. >> reporter: in your view, is it a cult? >> yes. >> reporter: in 2010, he and christie went on a retreat in the arizona desert. involving three years, three months and three days of silent meditation. about a month and a half in, christie and ian became the subject of a mutual spouse abuse investigation. a medical practitioner treated ian for stab wounds they say was inflicted by christie. she says it was an accident. the couple was asked to leave the retreat. they went to a cave nearby. >> it was a couple of people who thought they would live off the land. >> reporter: after several months, something went wrong. christie called in an emergency. when crews arrived, ian was dead, from exposure and dehydration? he took the right pre

to join legends like trainer freddy roach and ringside announcer michael buffer is part of the international boxes hall of fame's class of 2012. >> my dad, everybody knew about that. that's how i got into the game. and of course, everybody time i tried to get away from it, he brought me back. every time he pushed me back, i came back. so i think it was a match made in heaven. >> all the guys were on the mat one day. i told them one of you guys will make the olympic team, one of you guys will be in the top five and one of you guys will be a world champion. believe it or not, it happened. >> reporter: at his peak, he was numb they are three in the world. >> we're getting a little slide of bread. i said, pay this no mind, let's keep on fighting. we get a little slice of bread, a little slice of bread, eventually we'll have a loaf, and people will know about us. >> reporter: and built they would. too sharp also found equal lows, including an 11-month prison sentence after he violated probation for a previous drug charge. >> nothing good, there's nothing good about prison. >> reporter: these days