Saguache County DA dismisses charges against four Love Has Won cult members

The four were charged after cult leader’s mummified remains were found in a Moffat home

The Denver Post/September l14, 2021

By Noelle Phillips

Prosecutors have dropped criminal charges against four of the seven members of the Love Has Won cult, including the man who called himself Father God, according to Saguache County court records.

Three of those four each faced a charge of tampering with a deceased human body and two misdemeanor counts of child abuse. The fourth person faced a charge of abuse of a corpse and two misdemeanor counts of child abuse. Charges are pending against three other members, according to court records.

The 12th Judicial District prosecutor assigned to the case was in court Tuesday afternoon and unavailable to discuss the dismissals.

Love Has Won made global headlines in May after cult leader Amy Carlson’s mummified remains were found in a home in Moffat. Carlson, whose followers called her Mother God, was enshrined in Christmas lights, with glittery make-up painted around her eyes, according to arrest affidavits from the Saguache County Sheriff’s Office.

The body was found after one cult member went to the Salida Police Department to report it. At the time, sheriff’s investigators believed the seven members had driven Carlson’s body to Colorado from California. The child abuse charges were added because two children were in the home with the body, the affidavits said.

One of the people arrested was Jason Castillo, who was known as Father God and who helped Carlson lead the cult. He was among those whose charges were dismissed.

It took months for the Saguache County coroner to identify Carlson because she did not have medical or dental records and he had to wait on DNA testing. The coroner still has not determined the cause of death because he is waiting on complicated lab testing. The cult used electrolysis to break down metals into various solutions that its members sold online as health aids, and authorities want to know if Carlson had been ingesting those substances.

Carlson’s followers believed she was on Earth to save humanity and that she would lead them to a better life in another dimension. They called her death an ascension. However, observers and those whose families were in the cult said Carlson was controlling and abusive to her followers.

Since Carlson’s death, the group has rebranded itself and followers have scattered to other parts of the country. They continue to praise Mother God in their online testimonials, which are posted daily on a website and on social media.

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