With an unassuming name, Amy Carlson could have been anyone’s daughter, sister, and — yes — mother. But in southern Colorado, Carlson dubbed herself as Mother God in a startling true crime story that resulted in the cult leader’s death.

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Depicted in a harrowing 2023 true crime documentary, Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God, Carlson drew followers to her by proclaiming that god was a woman, and she was that deity. After meeting a man online, Carlson left her three children and followed him to Colorado. The man proclaimed himself as Father God, and she was his female counterpart. According to The Denver Post, Carlson ultimately set up shop in Crestone, Colorado, a location that she taught her followers was a portal to the fifth dimension.

Through her YouTube series, the Love Has Won leader preached her ideals. Among many ideas, she encouraged her followers to believe that she was millions of years old and in past lives had been Jesus, Joan of Arc, and Cleopatra. But as time progressed, her videos showed more and more disturbing content. Many started to notice that she was exhibiting abusive behavior toward her followers, and it wasn’t long before the story came to a macabre end.

How did Amy Carlson die?

Evidence of Carlson’s decline occurred in videos she would post online. Physically, the leader of Love Has Won appeared more sickly and frail as time went on. None of her followers raised any concerns as they traveled across the country. CBS News reported that authorities were called to the house by a concerned father whose 2-year-old was at the home. Featured in the HBO documentary, police entered the commune asking the followers about the whereabouts of the child. When the officers asked about Carlson, followers responded that she was “in rest.”

What the police found, however, was not as advertised. Authorities discovered the mummified corpse of Carlson, who was adorned in Christmas lights with missing eyes and covered in glitter. Authorities arrested seven followers on suspicion of abuse of a body, according to The Independent. The autopsy report published in Guru Magazine ascertained that no foul play was suspected. Dr. Emily Russell reported that her death was the result of natural causes.

“Based on the information available to me at the time of report it is my opinion that Amy Renee Stroud (Carlson), a 45-year-old adult white female, died as a result of global decline in the setting of alcohol abuse, anorexia, and chronic colloidal silver ingestion.”

Colloidal silver is often used for alleged healing properties, but there has been no evidence of it having any positive effects. Previously, Carlson had claimed that she suffered from cancer, though the autopsy confirmed that this was not the case. While many of her followers were arrested in connection with abuse of a body, they were eventually released. Many claimed that Carlson wasn’t dead but “out of communication” and would one day usher in a new age and return to her body.