Colorado cult members accused of keeping mummified remains of leader appear in court
Reuters
Published May 05, 2021 09:12PM ET
Updated May 06, 2021 03:37PM ET
By Keith Coffman
DENVER (Reuters) - Seven members of a religious cult who authorities say kept the mummified remains of their leader at a home in a remote Colorado town festooned with Christmas lights and glitter made an initial court appearance on Wednesday.
The four men and three women, ranging in age from 30 to 52 years old, are each charged with one count of abusing of a corpse and two counts of misdemeanor child abuse. The child abuse charges stem from two children who were living in the house where the body was found.
The bizarre tableau was discovered last week when a follower of the "Love Has Won" spiritual group told police that the members were keeping the corpse of the group's leader, Amy Carlson, inside his house in Moffat, Colorado, about 180 miles southwest of Denver.
Deputies found the remains of Carlson, 45, during a search of the home. Carlson, known to members as “Mother God,” was wrapped in a sleeping bag with glitter makeup around her eyes. The corpse was decorated with Christmas lights.
"The mummified remains appeared to be set up in some type of shrine," the affidavit said.
Police have not said when or how Carlson died or whether foul play was suspected. An autopsy was pending.
At Wednesday’s virtual hearing, Saguache County Judge Anna Ulrich released two of the defendants on personal recognizance bonds. The other five defendants remained in custody on $2,000 bail.
A prosecutor told the judge he expected to file an additional count of evidence tampering.
The Saguache County sheriff’s office said it has received complaints from across the United States from people who said the group was brainwashing its members and stealing their money.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.