'Mother God' Amy Carlson's mom says she was NOT a 'cult leader', claims real mastermind is still out there
SAGUACHE, COLORADO: After seven people were arrested in Saguache County, Colorado, in connection with the discovery of a mummified body believed to be that of the spiritual group's leader, 'Love Has Won', the mother of the deceased claimed that her daughter was "innocent".
According to arrest affidavits obtained by Fox News, Amy Carlson, 45, the group's leader and dubbed "Mother God" by her supporters, was found dead at a home in Moffat last Wednesday. Carlson's body was wrapped in a sleeping bag and enshrined with Christmas lights, according to reports.
RELATED ARTICLES
'Not cult leader'
Amy Carlson was the self-proclaimed supreme being and leader of the "Love Has Won" cult, which former members have accused of abuse, fraud, and brainwashing. According to the cult's now-defunct website, she was on her "534th reincarnation in my search." The group was established in Crestone, Colorado, according to She the People.
“She was a sweet, loving daughter,” said Linda Haythorne, Amy’s mother, to FOX21. She added that the term "cult leader" which has been used to describe her daughter, is inaccurate. Although she seems to be in the spotlight, former cult members' families told the news outlet that she was more of the group's idol.
Amy or "Mother God" had to be a certain weight to "ascend" to heaven, which meant she couldn't eat, causing her body to deteriorate. Carlson had a slight frame in the months leading up to what her family claims was her death. Haythorne isn't sure whether her daughter was hungry or refused to eat.
'Ascending' was likely her death
“Ascending”, the family said, "was likely Amy’s death". “She was one of those kinds that were more a follower than a leader and were sucked up into something that she didn’t know how to get out of and it went on and on and on,” Haythorne said.
In 2011, Carlson became involved in the cult, according to Haythorne, and started dating a guy she met online after reading some odd books. Her sister and mother did not feel as if she was in control of herself. On seeing live videos of the cult that showed emotional abuse, Haythorne said: “I was completely shocked that Amy would do things like that,” Haythorne said. “She wasn’t raised like that. I don’t know if it was a brainwash or the people she was around.”
Haythorne and the families of other alleged cult members say she was not the cult's leader. Haythorne is afraid that individual is still out there, ready to draw more people into their lies. She said: “We don’t know the whole truth. I hear stories from different people,” Haythorne said. “People have been reaching out to me. Ex-cult members are telling me it’s not just the ones that are in jail. There are more involved and there is a mastermind to all of this and he’s still out there and I don’t want him out there anymore because he might do this to someone else.”
'Goddess of volcanoes'
A Vice documentary series 'False Gods', which covered the cult, said Carlson insisted on being referred to as “Mother God” or “Mom” at all times. Carlson referred to herself as the goddess of volcanoes and the founder of the islands when the party was in Hawaii in September 2020, Star Advertiser reported.
The cult's activities, according to Hawaiian natives, were insulting and desecrated their culture. The group, which included Carlson, then 44, along with Jason Castillo, 45, and Miguel Lamboy, 42, had rented a house on Kauai for a month but were forced to leave after encountering resistance from residents.
'Didn't have ego programming'
The group lived in a tumultuous house in Colorado, where they were forced to abandon their previous lives in order to focus on bringing in money and catering to Carlson's every whim. They hosted regular live-streams to attract participants. “She didn’t have the ego programming like we do,” Hope, an official spokesperson for LHW, told Vice in their documentary. “Mom was just in full consciousness for her whole life.” She added: “That’s why she is the example, because we are not at that consciousness level. Nowhere near.”
An 'angry' drunk
Carlson, according to Vice, would indulge in smoking a bong, and was seen holding a drink in hand and yelling: “Jesus F*****g Christ… Who I am!” Aurora, another LHW spokesperson said, "Mom is a ‘no’ on drugs; we are not allowed to do drugs, she doesn’t do drugs and she has kicked people out of this field for doing drugs.”
Andrew Profaci, who was Carlson's lover for 10 months and served as the group's "Father God," said Carlson was, at that point in time, "one of the most brilliant, insightful people I have ever met", adding that everything changed after dinner. “She would fill a highball glass almost the whole way with vodka and just spritz water on top,” he told Vice. “She probably drank eight or nine of those a night. She’d turn into somebody else; she would become angry, she would talk smack and just be very bitter about things, yelling and cussing.”
Mental manipulation
Carlson did other nefarious things like stuffing a crying kid into a cupboard, blowing into a cat's ears, mistreating the same cat by catching it and keeping it at arm's length, and yelling abuse at people, according to Vice. With Jason Castillo, who became the next Father God, the group could be seen taunting members and abusing them. "It’s a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot of mental manipulation, a lot of brainwash,” said Taylor, a former member. “She [Carlson] only let us sleep for four hours, we have to wake up every day at 5AM, we start the live stream at 6[AM].”