Be Scofield is a prominent cult reporter whose work is cited by the New York Times, Washington Post, People, Daily Beast, The Guardian and has led to coverage on Netflix, Dr. Phil, VICE, CNN and elsewhere. Contact: bescofieldreporter@gmail.com / Follow on Facebook
September 14th, 2021
On Tuesday, September 14th, Saguache County Deputy District Attorney Alex Raines told judge Amanda Hopkins he was dropping charges against all Love Has Won cult members. It ends the several months long process of court hearings that began in May after the body of cult leader Amy Carlson was found deceased in the group’s Crestone home. Her death led to international press coverage after she was found “mummified,” wrapped in Christmas lights with glitter on her face. Her eyes had decomposed and were missing. Some officials estimated she had been dead for a month.
“After spending a lot of time considering the abuse of corpse statute, it is the states position that if we litigated it it would end up unconstitutional,” Raines told the judge. “As to the count of child abuse, after considering the likely jury pool and other associated factors the state decided we could not prove that charge beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Group members had faced years in prison if convicted of the charges.
There were two children present in the home when Saguache deputies conducted a pre-dawn raid on Thursday, April 29th at the cult’s home near Crestone. Long-term Love Has Won member Miguel Lamboy, alerted police to the presence of Amy Carlson’s deceased body. His child was also held against his will by the group when he went to the police. Seven Love Has Won cult members were arrested.
As a result of Miguel’s role he was contacted by the the district attorney’s office as part of the victim’s rights process. Miguel told them he was ok with charges being dropped against all members except for Jason Castillo, known as “Father God” by the cult. Raines, however, felt he could not charge any members, including Castillo.
Two members, Ryan Kramer and Karin Raymond spoke to CBS 4 Denver’s Rick Sallinger after a court date in May. They told Sallinger they did not know how Amy Carlson died and that she could perhaps come back on a starship.
On July 30th, the Colorado Sun reported that the county coroner was seeking to do metals testing on Amy Carlson’s body but was having difficulty finding someone to do so. Carlson was taking heavy doses of colloidal silver when she died. The coroner told The Guru Magazine in early September that they still had not concluded Amy’s autopsy.
The Guru Magazine was first to report on the obscure Love Has Won cult last year in July, 2020. That led to the Dr. Phil Show season premiere about the cult. The Guru Magazine was also first to report on Carlson’s death and the reporting has been cited by the New York Times, People, Washington Post and many others.
In an interview with the Guru Magazine, Miguel Lamboy said he transferred the groups $330,000 into a new account and claimed he was going to continue the work of Amy Carlson as she had wished. Neighbors of the cults home in Crestone claim Miguel is staying there on and off and is preparing the home to be sold.
