Cause of Death Released For Alleged Cult Leader Found Mummified, Without Eyes And Wrapped In Christmas Lights
One of Lia “Amy” Carlson's followers alerted authorities to her remains earlier this year, which had been decorated in a makeshift shrine.
Months after an alleged cult leader was found mummified and covered in sparkles inside a rural Colorado home, an autopsy has determined her cause of death.
Lia “Amy” Carlson — known by her followers as “Mother God” — died as a result of alcohol abuse, anorexia, and colloidal silver consumption, according to an El Paso County Coroner’s Office autopsy report obtained by the Daily Beast. Colloidal silver is a metal that has been promoted on the Internet and in some social circles as both a dietary and healing supplement; however, health officials warn it is dangerous and ineffective.
Back in April, the 45-year-old spiritual leader of Love Has Won was discovered mummified with her eyes missing. Her remains had been decorated with Christmas lights and glitter makeup and wrapped in a green sleeping bag in what appeared to be a shrine of sorts.
“There was some makeup on the corpse and some essential oils, incense — stuff like that to control the odor of the remains,” Saguache County Sheriff Dan Warwick told Oxygen.com in May.
Investigators made the grim discovery after one of Carlson’s followers called to report the corpse. Miguel Lamboy, 42, told detectives he found a gray corpse with missing eyes in his home after inviting a group of Love Has Won to stay with him, according to a probable cause statement previously obtained by Oxygen.com.
Love Has Won members Ryan Kramer, John Robertson, Jason Castillo, Christopher Royer, Ma Obdulia Franco-Gonzalez, Karin Raymond, and Sarah Rudolph were charged with abuse of a corpse and child abuse as a result of that discovery.
Saguache County Coroner Tom Perrin told The Daily Beast in May that there was nothing to indicate any foul play. He previously told the Denver Post that autopsy results were delayed as he tried to find a lab that tested bodies for metals.
Last year, Carlson told the Dr. Phil show she had advanced cancer. The coroner’s report noted that they found a thyroid gland that was “grossly consistent with a colloid,” but did not find evidence of metastatic cancer, the Daily Beast reports.
Love Has Won is based in Crestone, Colorado and the controversial movement has been accused of “brainwashing people and stealing their money” by families across the United States. Carlson had claimed to be the reincarnation of Joan of Arc and Marilyn Monroe, Rolling Stone reports.