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Love Has Won: Mother of mummified ‘Mother God’ cult leader Amy Carlson claims cover-up

Mother Linda Haythorne is worried the cult members could harm others

Justin Vallejo
New York
Friday 15 October 2021 12:05 BST
Sheriff and bereaved speak out after cult worships Amy Carlson's mummified corpse.mp4

The mother of Love has Won cult leader Amy Carlson says the question of whether her daughter was murdered remains open after the case was swept "under the rug".

In an exclusive interview with NBC’s Dateline, Ms Carlson’s mother Linda Haythorne spoke out after prosecutors dropped charges against seven people in connection to a morbid ritual involving Carlson’s decaying corpse.

"It seems like they’re kind of brushing it under the rug," Ms Haythorne said in a clip of the interview published by People. "That’s the way I feel, anyway."

Seven members of the spiritual cult were taken into custody after the decaying body of Ms Carlson, 45, was discovered in the group’s headquarters in Colorado in April.

"Father God" Juan Castillo, along with members Ryan Kramer, John Robertson, Karin Raymond, Christopher Royer, Sara Rudolph, and Ma obdulia Franco Gonzalez, were charged with misdemeanour with child abuse as two minors were inside the home.

Ms Haythorne believes there’s still a question of whether her daughter was murdered.

Amy "Madre Dios" Carlson y Jason "Padre Dios" Castillo
Amy "Madre Dios" Carlson y Jason "Padre Dios" Castillo (Supplied)

Saguache County District Attorney Alonzo Payne defended dropping the charges against the group.

"Our office looked at all the documents and everything that was provided, and from our perspective, the allegations could not be met beyond a reasonable doubt," he told Dateline.

After finding the body and investigating the case, Saguache County Sheriff Dan Warwick told Dateline’s Keith Morrison justice has not been served.

"I can understand why they would be angry, frustrated, I guess disgusted with the entire process. I don’t blame them for having those feelings," he said.

"I think we walked away from something that needed to be addressed”.

Dateline’s The Ascension of Mother God airs Friday at 9pm ET.

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