- You're about to get it. And every one of you that went against me, you're going to get it. - I've never seen a group of people be so nonchalant about a dead
person in their back room. - 9Wants to Know is learning more today about the woman's body found fully decorated in Christmas lights in a home in Southern Colorado. - Woo. Did you folks wake up
this morning and think, "Today, I would like to
go on a wild journey"? If so, well... Welcome. Let's begin on the island of Kaua'i. (soft ukulele music) It's July of 2020, and Amy Carlson, AKA Lia, AKA Mom, AKA
Mother, AKA Mother God, and her religious group Love Has Won arrived on Kaua'i from Crestone, Colorado. (plane engine roaring) Her followers claimed Carlson had cancer and was paralyzed from the waist down. After renting a beachfront property, Carlson and 14 group
members took up a residence, with plans that all of Love Has Won would relocate to the island. The locals were immediately suspicious of Carlson and her followers. It started with their alleged violation of COVID quarantine rules, but quickly shifted to be
more about the members' odd, evasive behavior. It was becoming clear that
what this small island had on their hands was a cult. Now, "cult" is a tricky word, and some experts advise against using it, saying it's thrown around in a way that attacks new or
less popular religions. (heavenly choir singing) But in the case of Love Has Won, you have other experts saying, "If it walks like a cult, "and it quacks like a cult, "well it's either a duck or a cult." Anyway, Carlson and her followers started doing what any 2020
COVID era cult would do, constant live streams from their property. - [Female Voice] Angel number 666. - This is God's live stream, what are you doing on here, Dan? - Just realize that we don't stop. - Yeah, right, we- - We could go all day. - We ain't gonna stop. Don't rile up this one, don't tell her to stop. - The suspicions that
locals were harboring about Love Has Won were soon confirmed by the live streams on Kaua'i and recording of live streams from the group's previous locations. Despite her followers touting her as all love, a nurturing maternal figure, the live streams also showed Carlson as angry, vindictive and abusive to followers, children and animals. - (beep) go on meow (beep) mother (beep). - Carlson regularly used foul language, and appeared high or
intoxicated on camera, despite her alleged rules against any drug or chemical use. - Mom is a no on drugs. - Two of her followers explained to Vice that mother doesn't use pharmaceuticals or morphine, but uses a
natural pain killer, alcohol, which is organic. - Thank you, I don't drink. - [Woman] Oh, it's all
right, it's organic. - According to former members, that translated to around
eight vodkas a night. - You guys are (beep). - She would fill a high ball glass, I mean almost the whole way with vodka, and just spritz water on top. - (beep) - Locals in Kaua'i start to get more upset the more they learn about Love Has Won. Again, this is a small island. My aunt lives there, and said this conflict was
often on front page news. Love Has Won gets called predatory of vulnerable populations, and dismissive of COVID regulations. In one video, when the topic of Kauai's COVID restrictions come up, two followers flip off
the camera in response. Mother God herself was
generally dismissive of COVID procedures. Love Has Won's company, Gaia's
Whole Healing Essentials LLC, claimed that their
colloidal silver products were the key to protecting yourself from the coronavirus. The company advised people
to take colloidal silver three times a day, five times if they showed COVID symptoms. Carlson herself took excessive
amounts of colloidal silver, which may actually have
contributed to her death. The FDA forced them to
change their labeling, but Love Has Won continued
to sell supplements, oils, soaps, candles, and over the phone healing sessions that would help people ascend, and all the money would go
to fund their non-profit. So, they constantly released content, they tout an aspirational existence, they're organic, they know the lowdown on COVID, and they sell a lifestyle alongside supplements and oils. Gwyneth, goobey woopey, they're coming for your brand. But regardless of the controversy and anger that Carlson
stirred up in the community, Kaua'i law enforcement had no good reason to take action against the group. According to them, the group hadn't actually broken any laws. But things took a turn
when Carlson claimed she was the Hawaiian
goddess of fire, Pele. We know she claimed this because she said such things as (beep) you, I'm Pele. - They found out the truth, that's mother's Pele, and they didn't like that. - Everyone that's saying that
we should leave the island, you wanna be in denial
that Pele has returned, and you think you know better about what you're talking about. You can't think you know better. You can't think you know who Pele is when she
stands up and says she is. - As a white person from Hawaii, I feel I can speak for the Hawaiian people when I say what they love most is a 40 something white lady from the mainland coming
over during a pandemic, and declaring herself to be
their sacred goddess, Pele. They love it. Five stars. Peaceful protestors that
had already been gathering outside the group's home turned violent. Bon fires were lit, rocks were thrown, protestors shouted at
Carlson and her followers, and they shouted back and
taunted them from their balcony. The house and the group's
van were vandalized with more than 100 protestors. That's a lot for Kauai's north shore. Eventually gathering outside the house. They held signs that said
"Cults not welcome here." And when the fire department asked "Who started these fires?" The protestors yelled "Pele." That's not a bad answer. The protestors claimed they're not gonna stop until these people are off the island. When the house was attacked, the mayor, Derek Kawakami, stepped in to broker an agreement where Love Has Won leaves in exchange for police
escorts to the airport. Carlson and Love Has Won
managed to fly to San Francisco, before eventually ending
up back in Colorado. So, you might really
be starting to wonder, who is this woman? If you were to go off how
Carlson describes herself, she was the queen of Lemuria, a lost continent whose descendants may still live inside
California's Mount Shasta. While living in Lemuria, Carlson was queen, and her father was Donald Trump. (heavenly choir singing) Somewhere at the bottom of your closest, you're 2020 Bingo card is coming to life and calling your name. This is all to say Carlson's followers believed that she was the
19 billion year old mother of all creation. She was earth incarnate. She could heal the sick. She'd lived 534 lives that included Jesus and Marilyn Monroe, and she would not die. She would simply ascend, leading 144,000 people
to the fifth dimension. But who was Amy Carlson really? Born in 1975, and raised in Dallas, Texas, Carlson was a popular student, with a pretty singing voice, who made great grades. It wasn't until 2006 when she went all in with
her new set of beliefs, leaving behind her husband, two children and a job as
a manager at McDonald's. Carlson began building her flock by gaining followers on YouTube. What a horrifying way to gain followers. Anyway, if you guys are liking this video, like and subscribe. We're not a cult. One former member claims she had thousands of followers worldwide. And unlike Waco or Jonestown, Love Has Won's reach
was vast and shareable. Plus, it was possible to
observe Carlson's journey to cult leader in real time. Over the past 15 years you could watch Carlson's followers grow, as well as watch how she treated them. While she presented early
on as sunny and positive, Carlson's behavior, and the behavior she
expected of her followers became clearly abusive. Carlson demanded that her followers only sleep for four or five hours a night. They were not always allowed food, and were not always allowed to sit. And they had to provide
for her every need. If they collapsed or fell asleep, they were deemed lazy. - It's usually people
that are really lazy. I think it's the people that grew up in a different way. They were the people that
sat on the couch all day and lay in bed all day, and so they get very tired by it. - A follower of hers is
shown in a live stream being berated by Carlson
and Jason, AKA, Father God. - Don't cross this bitch. - For the sin of bringing
Mother God meatballs instead of chicken parmigiana. - I didn't say meatballs. I love meatballs, but I
didn't (beep) say that. (beep). Chicken parmigiana. - Jesus and Marilyn Monroe would never have to put up with that. Despite all this, at their home base in Crestone, Colorado, no arrests were ever made of Carlson or anyone in the group. While the sheriff's office in Crestone said numerous complaints
were made about the group brainwashing people and
stealing their money, no one would admit to wrong doing on the part of Carlson. - We've been trying to ask the sheriff and the county for three years now to get this place shut
down as a public nuisance and we're ignored. - It's worth fore fronting
that Amy Carlson was a woman. Most infamous cult leaders
in recent memory were men. And even though Carlson's
followers spoke of her as the motherly embodiment
of love and comfort, she was mean. She was a bully. Her attitude was like you can't cancel me, I'll cancel you asshole. I'm the queen of f'in Lemuria. And maybe in the 21st Century all those factors were
part of the f'in draw. So what drew us to this story? On April 28, 2021, an alleged member of Love Has Won, Miguel Lamboy, walked
into a police station to report that he had come home and discovered a corpse in his house. A corpse he identified as
45-year-old Amy Carlson. Lamboy had returned to his
house in Moffat, Colorado, another tiny town next to Crestone, and found five other Love Has Won members needing a place to stay. He agreed to let them crash, and left for the night. When he went back the following day, he learned them included Carlson's corpse in the back bedroom. Her mummified body was
wrapped in a sleeping bag, decorated with Christmas lights, and had glitter makeup applied around her empty eye sockets. Her lips were dehydrated and pulled back to reveal her teeth. According to police, the mummified remains
appeared to be set up in some type of shrine. Mother God had become mummy God. I'm sorry for that joke. The county coroner determined the body had been dead for some time, decomposed to the point where getting fingerprints was impossible. Upon examining a car on Lamboy's property, the vehicle was quote,
consistent with someone transporting the mummified remains, which I think just means
the seats were laid flat. (heavenly choir singing) From now on, any time
I put my backseats down to move a dresser or something, I'm gonna say "Ah, yes,
consistent with someone "transporting mummified remains." Lamboy went to the police
when the Love Has Won members in his house wouldn't allow him to remove his two year
old son from the property. When police entered the home, they found Carlson's body, the shrine, the Love Has Won members, Lamboy's son and a 13-year-old girl. Lamboy's son was returned to him, and the girl was taken
into protective custody. As of now, seven adults have been charged with abuse of a corpse, and child abuse. The date of Carlson's death hasn't yet been confirmed, but it seems that Carlson started to rapidly decline in March, with a photo of her taken
approximately three weeks before her death,
looking gaunt and purple. Possibly because of the sheer amount of colloidal silver she was taking. On April 14th, a member announced in a live stream, of course, from the Mount Shasta area in California "Her vessel is not sustained." And then on April 16th
members on the live stream said she was very, very,
very close to dying, and she's slowly, slowly
going out of her vessel. But of course it's also possible the death had already occurred by the time these announcements were made. By April 26th, the Love Has Won members were kicked out of an
RV park in Mount Shasta, and from there it seems they
traveled with Carlson's body back to Moffat, Colorado. All in all it seems like Mother
God's plans were fulfilled. But what about all this
abuse of a corpse stuff? I know I've talked about abuse
of corpse laws before, often, but since laws can vary
from state to state, here's a quick rundown of what Colorado says
about corpse treatment. A person commits abuse of a corpse, which is a class two misdemeanor, if they, one, remove the body from a grave without the consent of the person who has the right to
dispose of the remains. Or two, treat the body in a way that would outrage normal
family sensibilities. There's also tampering
with a deceased human body, which is a class three felony. That's when a person or persons, or gaggle of Love Has Won members, without legal right, willfully destroy, mutilate, conceal, remove or alter a human body with intent to impair its appearance or availability in the
official proceedings. So, according to all of the above, was Amy Carlson's corpse
abused by her followers? Well, as far as our corpse
in question is concerned, likely no. Yes, Carlson's followers wrapped her up in a sleeping bag, drove
her across state lines, and decorated her desiccated eye sockets with glitter makeup, but it seems that was kind of
in line with what she wanted. Just because most of us wouldn't wanna be a sparkly sleeping bag mummy, doesn't make this corpse abuse. You can't outrage Love
Has Won's definition of normal family sensibilities because they're not
really a normal family. So as far as Mother God is concerned, no. But as far as the state
is concerned, likely yes. Death investigations, such as autopsies done by the medical examiner or coroner, take precedence over
the wishes of a family. I can't push my mother down the stairs, take her body across state lines, and prop her up in the elephant diorama at the Natural History Museum. The state where she died, and the state where she was brought to would go "Hey, wait a minute, "you never registered that death, "or we don't know the causes of her death, "and it also seems like
you may have murdered her." And in the case of Amy Carlson, she was only 45 years old. She was said to have cancer, but we don't know if she had a doctor, it alcoholism played a part, if excessive colloidal
silver played a part. I obviously have no idea, but that's the point, no one does unless there's a doctor
or coroner involved. At the same time, abuse of a corpse is
sort of a red herring. No one truly gets the books thrown at them for abuse of a corpse charges. I can't help but wonder if this is a kind of gotcha situation with Colorado law enforcement. They couldn't make the charges stick when Carlson was alive, but now that she's dead they got Love Has Won on abusing the corpse. It's a sparkly mummy, we can't have this. As I wrote about in my second book, Colorado actually has the best, most open to interpretation funeral laws in the United States. And Crestone is a town that's populated by all manner of religious groups, from Buddhists to Carmelite nuns. By most accounts Love Has Won was a bridge too far for even
their open-minded population. It's home to the Crestone
End of Life Project, the only place in the U.S. where a body from the local community can be cremated on an open air fire. Crestone is just one of those places where open-mindedness
and less than strict laws can lead to absolutely beautiful rituals that push back against funeral
laws in the United States. But that also means that Love Has Won felt like it was the right place to get away with pretty much anything. So here's where the story stands. Her followers have been released on bond. - How did she die? - I actually do not know
the answer for that. Sincerely, I don't know. - Even now her followers
refuse to say she died, she's merely out of communication. They did confirm on live
stream that she had ascended. - A lot's going on. And the most beautiful thing of all is that Mother God has ascended. Woohoo, yippie. - It's easy to make light of this story because mummified cult leader just seems like something out
of a different era, right? That's why it can be
helpful to remember those who have lost loved ones, a form of death in itself, to cults like Love Has Won. Cole Carlson, Amy's son, who she left when he was just 10, was expecting her death, but he's disturbed by everything
that has happened since. He's looking to find justice for those paid massive amounts of money to join Love Has Won. It makes me mad, Cole said, and I really don't wanna
see this work continue, especially with his
mother's name attached, or in her honor. (gentle music) This video was made
with generous donations from death enthusiasts just like you. (gentle music)
Another sect/New Religious Movement (this is the word I’m using out of courtesy for those I am about to describe, not LoveHasWon) was the focal point of a Supreme Court case regarding whether or not mummification was legal as a religious rite, even for groups not recognized as a 501(c).
Their name is Summum, a Kemetic-Hermetic group based in Salt Lake City, UT, and they’ve been around as a local anomaly since 1975 complete with a weekly public service and a pyramid on their suburban property.
No allegations of brainwashing or abuse have been made towards them, which has lead to them mostly avoiding the “cult” label aside from some LDS folks in the Utah government. They seem to just be a Kemetic NRM.
Mummification of deceased members and even pets continues to be a keystone of their beliefs and practices. I believe the courts ruled in their favor.
Edit: a word
Religion in general and cults in particular make me sick, as does animal abuse. After that short clip of the leader abusing that poor cat all I have to say is this: Fuck that bitch and good riddance.