Corpse believed to belong to controversial cult leader found in a Colorado shrine covered in glitter with no eyes
Seven group members arrested on various charges including child abuse and abuse of corpse
A corpse believed to be of a leader of a controversial Colorado religious group was found mummified in a sleeping bag, wrapped in Christmas lights and with glitter around its missing eyes.
The remains are believed to be of Amy Carlson, 45, known to her followers as “Mother God”, who was a self-proclaimed “divine being” from the group Love Has Won.
The group had been branded by law enforcement and followers as a “cult,” reported The Daily Beast.
The investigation into the corpse led to the arrest of seven members of the group on various charges, including child abuse and abuse of a corpse. But no one has been charged for Carlson’s death.
The Saguache County Sheriff’s office found the body on Wednesday after receiving a tip from a suspected member of the group, Miguel Lamboy.
The affidavit said that Mr Lamboy said “...it was obvious that Ms Carlson was dead because her eyes were missing. Mr Lamboy stated that the body appeared to be mummified with Ms Carlson’s teeth exposed through the lips.”
The body was found in the group’s headquarters, a mobile home, in rural Saguache county with “what appears to be glitter makeup on around the eyes” and adorned with Christmas tree lights, the affidavit said.
It is suspected that the eyes were missing due to the decomposition of the body.
Carlson was deemed to be dead for weeks, and her body might have been transported to Colorado from Oregon, according to Mr Lamboy.
Saguache County officials said the official identity of the corpse has not been confirmed as her body was too decomposed to be verified via fingerprints. But the dental records would be used for the identification and determining when the person died.
Describing the scene where the body was found, Saguache County Coroner Tom Perrin told Daily Beast that the room was “very decorated with murals on the walls and Christmas lights all around” and two children of ages 13 and 2, asleep in the mobile home.
He suspected that Carlson was ingesting colloidal silver – a formulation she had been selling as a cure for coronavirus.
Her sister Chelsea Ann Reninger confirmed Carlson’s death on an obituary posted on Facebook.
She said: “For those of you that knew my sister Amy, I wanted to let you know we found out yesterday of her passing! Please pray for us and the people involved in this awful situation. We are choosing to remember who she was when she was in our lives on a regular basis and not who she became from this manipulating cult!”
Love Has Won has not announced the death of its leader but one of the members posted an encrypted message that read: “She has not passed away. She ascended. Her essence left her body.” The group member described the death by saying that her body was paralysed but her brain was functioning.