Kriti Mehrotra
As a news magazine that explores an extensive array of real-life mysteries with the help of in-depth investigations, NBC’s ‘Dateline’ has been a staple for true-crime fans since its premiere in 1992. From harrowing kidnappings to mysterious deaths to brutal murders, it covers every matter in a manner that gives us a glimpse into the realities of what transpired and why. Thus, of course, its episode ‘The Ascension of Mother God,’ profiling the demise of Amy Carlson, is no different. And if you’re curious to know the details of this perplexing case, we’ve got you covered.
How Did Amy Carlson Die?
Lia “Amy” Carlson Stroud, a former McDonald’s employee from Texas, was the leader of the now-defunct obscure religious foundation Love Has Won (LHW) when she passed away. This group has been characterized as a cult by many, and a Vice News Documentary from March 2021 even stated that she, the “Mother God,” promised her followers “an alternative reality” if they adhered to their path. Amy’s teachings were a bit fantastical, and she claimed to be on her 534th reincarnation to save the planet, with a couple of them being Jesus Christ and Marilyn Monroe.
Amy even believed that she could speak to the soul and spirit of late actor Robin Williams and cure cancer. However, all this came to a shocking end around April 2021, when the 45-year-old’s mummified remains were found in a secluded cul-de-sac near Moffat, Colorado. On the 28th, a resident of the home went to the police station to report a dead body, stating that he noticed it soon after returning home after being away for a while. Officials raided the house around midnight and were confounded by how the other seven residents seemed unbothered by the corpse.
After all, they could recognize the badly decomposed remains in the back bedroom from the hall between the kitchen and living room, which looked settled in a shrine of sorts. The woman was unquestionably ensconced in a sleeping bag wrapped with Christmas lights, and glitter had been applied around her empty eye sockets. Furthermore, her skin was grey, and her teeth were showing through her lips. It took a while, but DNA testing eventually confirmed that the body was Amy Carlson’s. Her followers did not deem it death but rather an “ascension” to a higher domain.
According to Amy and many of her disciples, she was battling cancer and was paralyzed from the waist down, which her family thinks wasn’t treated or affirmed by medical professionals. Authorities also believe that she passed away in California – where she was last seen alive on April 10 – and was subsequently moved to Colorado to be around her LHW followers. They’ve even revealed that she was ingesting large amounts of colloidal silver as a group-assumed COVID-19 cure, despite the FDA warning them against it. In the end, it turned out her cause of death (allegedly on April 21, 2021) was a combination of alcohol abuse, anorexia, and colloidal silver consumption – her autopsy uncovered no traces of cancer, just a thyroid gland “grossly consistent with a colloid.”
Amy Carlson’s Death Remains a Mystery
The seven individuals and suspected LHW followers at the residence from where Amy’s body was recovered were arrested and indicted on April 28 itself on a couple of counts each, including abuse of a corpse and tampering with a deceased human body. All seven were further charged with two misdemeanors for child neglect and abuse since a 13-year-old and 2-year-old were in the house when officers arrived to investigate. However, by September end, these indictments against all seven were dropped without reason, only for it to later be assumed they wouldn’t have stuck considering they weren’t involved in Amy’s death in any manner.
There have been no public records indicating that Amy was murdered, yet her family initially still had questions surrounding her death. It does not appear as if they were extremely close since “the Mother” had left everything behind to start anew, but it didn’t matter anymore; they wanted answers. Her younger sister even spoke to BBC and admitted she’d always feared Amy’s LHW leadership would end with a tragedy. “We know she’s not completely innocent in this whole situation because she chose to join this cult,” she’d declared. “But at the same time, she doesn’t deserve what happened to her in the end. No human being deserves that.”
Read More: Where is Jason Castillo Now?
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