A former member of the cult Love Has Won – whose leader's corpse was found mummified and adorned with fairy lights and glitter in a Colorado home alongside several of the group's adherents – has spoken out about the shocking incident.
Despite the bizarre incident, Andrew Profaci, a former high-profile member of the group, said he was unsurprised.
Speaking with CBS4 in Colorado, Mr Profaci said former cult leader Amy Carlson's health was failing, even when he was involved with the group.
“Shocking, really. I was not surprised at her passing,” he said. “She was not in very good health and getting worse.”
Mr Profaci joined the group after going on a "spiritual journey” following a horrific car crash he was involved in. He joined the group in 2014 and spent 10 months in Ms Carlson's inner circle.
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When Mr Profaci joined the group, he was ushered into a leadership position.
“When I joined the team I thought I was just going to be a guy in background. She told me I was going to be the father God to her mother God,” he said.
He said Ms Carlson was a heavy drinker. She has appeared in numerous videos visibly drunk and also appeared to smoke marijuana as well, despite banning the use of drugs for her adherents.
“Amy, at that point in time, was definitely one of the most brilliant, insightful people I've ever met, but it all changed after dinner,” he said in an interview with Vice News. “She could drink like I've never seen before.”
Mr Profaci said the group has changed since he was a member.
“I would characterise it as a cult now,” said Mr Profaci.
According to the Saguache County Sheriff’s Office, Ms Carlson's body was found wrapped up in a sleeping bag and presented as though it was part of a shrine.
Seven of the cult's core members were arrested after deputies found them living in the house alongside the corpse.
The group was give a varying number of abuse of a corpse and child abuse charges.
The body was discovered after another former cult member, Miguel Lamboy, was invited in to the residence to visit with Mother God.
When he entered and saw her decaying remains, he tried to leave, but another member allegedly grabbed his young son and refused to let him leave the home.
Mr Lamboy reported the incident to the police, who shortly after launched a raid at the home and discovered the body.
None of the cult members have been charged with any crimes relating to Ms Carlson's death. She is believed to have been ingesting colloidal silver – an alleged dietary supplement that health experts warn has no such effects and can in fact kill if ingested in large quantities – and cult members claimed she had cancer.
A spokesperson for the cult claimed that Ms Carlson died the same night deputies found her body, though that assertion flies in the face of a medical examiner's report that estimated she had been dead for at least several weeks.
According to the cult's spokesperson, Ms Carlson did not die, but rather she ascended.
The cult has not stopped operating since Ms Carlson's death. The group is still continuing to post “Daily Energy Update” videos on YouTube.
