SAGUACHE COUNTY, Colo. — Seven people have been arrested and face charges of abuse of a corpse after a decomposing body was found inside a home in Crestone, a small town in Saguache County in southern Colorado.
The investigation began on April 28, when a man went to the Salida Police Department to report a death, but because he lived in Moffat, the information was passed to the Saguache County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) who responded to the home at 4 Alcedo Ct.
"Definitely strange and out of the ordinary," said Corporal Steve Hansen with the SCSO.
The man said he wanted to report the death of a woman, known to him, as Lia Carlson, according to an arrest warrant from the SCSO.
He's believed to be part of a religious group known as “Love has Won”, which according to the warrant, SCSO has received "many complaints from families" within the United States saying that the group is "brainwashing people and stealing their money." Carlson is believed to be the leader of "Love has Won" and goes by the name "Mother God," the warrant says.
The man said that he left for Denver on the morning of April 28, traveled to Beuna Vista and when he returned to the home in Moffat, he saw the body, the warrant says.
The man reported that it was "obvious" the woman was dead because her eyes were missing, the warrant says. He went on to say that her body was wrapped in cloth and said her teeth were exposed through her lips, according to the warrant.
Investigators went to the home (pictured below) and found the remains in a back bedroom on the south side of the house, according to the warrant.
"I've never seen a group of people be so nonchalant about a dead person in their back room," said Hansen.
The body appeared to be in a sleeping bag and there appeared to be "glitter type" makeup around the eyes, according to the warrant, which also says the body was decorated with Christmas lights.
As a result of the body being found the following people have been arrested:
- Ryan Kramer
- Christopher Royer
- Sarah Rudolph
- Karin Raymond
- Jason Castillo
- John Robertson
- Obdulia Franco
All of the seven of them were inside the home when it was searched by investigators. Two children, a 13-year-old girl and a two-year-old boy, were also in the home.
The man who reported the remains to investigators has not been arrested. He told authorities he believed the body was recently brought to the home from California.
He reported that people showed up in a Nissan vehicle from California and when investigators searched the vehicle, the back seat was laid down, and the position of the rear passenger seat was "consistent with someone transporting mummified remains," the affidavit says.
Marc Adams has lived near the home for the past three years and has never had any issues with the people who lived there.
"They usually keep to themselves," he said.
After news of the remains found inside, he's now more concerned about what might have been happening there.
"Having a cult live this close to me, it's really kind of crazy," he said. "Keeping the dead inside a house, why would you want to do that?"
The woman's cause of the death is not yet known and it's also unclear when she may have died.
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